Kari Gallagher
Associate Teaching Professor
Office: 2185 Eck Hall of Law
Phone: 574-631-1871
Fax: 574-631-4197
Email: kgallag1@nd.edu
Staff Assistant: Debbie Sumption
Kari Gallagher initially joined the faculty in 2000 as an adjunct in the Deposition Skills program. She has taught Legal Writing since 2016 and the Judicial Externship Seminar since 2021. She joined the faculty full-time in 2023.
Professor Gallagher’s legal career has included work in the judiciary and in private practice. She served as a career law clerk to Judge Kenneth Ripple of the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. During her almost 25 years of service, she assisted in the drafting of more than 200 published opinions, spanning almost every area of federal practice.
She also practiced at Baker & Daniels (now Faegre Baker Daniels), where she handled a wide range of litigation, employment, and traditional labor matters. These include conducting sexual harassment training and audits; advising clients on disciplinary and termination procedures; representing school corporations and private companies in administrative hearings before local, state, and federal agencies; and representing local and national companies in Title VII litigation in federal court. Professor Gallagher also represented employers in arbitrations and conducted union negotiations on behalf of public and private entities.
Professor Gallagher is a member of the St. Joseph County and 7th Circuit Bar Associations, as well as the Robert A. Grant Inn of Court.
She was born in Kailua, Hawaii. She received a bachelor of arts, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame, where she studied sociology and Soviet studies. In 1993, she graduated magna cum laude from Notre Dame Law School, where she served as lead articles editor for the Notre Dame Law Review.
Professor Gallagher is an active member of St. Pius X Catholic Church and serves as a mock trial coach for St. Joseph High School. She has been married to her husband, Jerry, for over 30 years, and has three children: Gracie (’16), Katie (’17), and Declan, a high school sophomore.
Courses Taught
- LAW70714, Judicial Externship Instruction
- LAW60705, Legal Writing I
- LAW 60707, Legal Research & Writing II