Katherine Earle Yanes concentrates her practice in the areas of criminal defense, appeals, and postconviction relief. In 1997, she graduated from Stetson University College of Law, magna cum laude, as valedictorian of her class. Following law school, Ms. Yanes served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Since 1999, she has successfully represented defendants at the trial, appellate, and postconviction phases of criminal litigation in federal and state courts, as well as in government investigations. Ms. Yanes has served as President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, President of the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Trial and Litigation Section, Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section, and Journal Editor of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.
Katherine Earle Yanes was awarded the 2021 Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers’ President’s Award in appreciation of outstanding service to HAWL. Ms. Yanes was also awarded the 2017 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for her outstanding pro bono service and the 2017 Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers Pro Bono Award. She was also awarded the 2017 Woman Lawyer of Achievement Award for excellence and integrity in her field by The Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. Additionally, in 2015, the Hillsborough County Bar Association Criminal Law Section awarded Ms. Yanes the Marcelino “Bubba” Huerta Award for pro bono service and the pursuit of equal justice, and the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association recognized Ms. Yanes as Mentor of the Year. In 2010, Ms. Yanes was given the President’s Award by the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers for her outstanding service to the organization.
Awards and Honors
- Recipient of 2021 George C. Carr Memorial Award for excellence in federal practice and distinguished service to the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Appellate Practice and White-Collar Criminal Defense, 2013-present; 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” for White-Collar Criminal Defense
- Listed in Florida Super Lawyers, 2013-present, Criminal Defense; Top 100 Lawyers in Florida, 2017; Top 50 Women Lawyers in Florida, 2017-2019,2022; and Top 50 in Tampa Bay, 2017,2022; Florida Rising Stars, 2009-2011
- Listed in Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite, Criminal Law, 2012-present
- 2021 Recipient, Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers’ President’s Award in appreciation of outstanding service to HAWL
- 2017 Recipient, The Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for her outstanding pro bono service.
- 2017 Recipient, The Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers Pro Bono Award for her pro bono service
- 2017 Recipient, The Florida Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division Woman Lawyer of Achievement Award for excellence and integrity in her field
- 2015 Recipient, The Hillsborough County Bar Association Criminal Law Section Marcelino “Bubba” Huerta Award for pro bono service and the pursuit of equal justice.
- 2015 Recipient, The Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s Mentor of the Year Award for her dedication to the mentoring program.
- 2010 Recipient, Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers’ first President’s Award in appreciation of outstanding service to HAWL
Professional Experience
- Kynes, Markman & Felman, P.A., Tampa, Florida, Associate, 1999-2006; Partner, 2007-Present
- Law Clerk to Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, 1998-1999
Professional Activities, Bar Associations and Organizations
- Vice Chair, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Task Force on First Step Act Implementation, 2019
- The Federal Bar Association, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Member, 2017-present
- American Bar Association (Member; Liaison to the United States Sentencing Commission, 2017-present; former Editorial Board Member, ABA Criminal Litigation Newsletter)
- Florida Association for Women Lawyers, Journal Editor, 2015-2016
- Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, President, 2012-2013
- Hillsborough County Bar Association (Chair, Trial and Litigation Section, 2018-19; Board Member, Trial and Litigation Section, 2009-present; former Co-Chair, Appellate Practice Section)
- Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, President, 2017
- Screening Committee Member, The Clemency Project 2014, 2014-2017
- American Bar Association (Member; Liaison to the United States Sentencing Commission, 2016-present; former Editorial Board Member, ABA Criminal Litigation Newsletter)
- The Florida Bar (Member; Diversity and Inclusion Committee, 2017-present; Federal Bar Practice Committee, 2017-present)
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- The Eleventh Circuit Historical Society
Selected Publications
- Habeas Corpus, Chapter 15, Florida Appellate Practice (12th ed. 2022) (Co-author)
- Second Edition of Grand Jury Law and Practice, a two-volume treatise published by West Group (Co-Author)
- Glickman v. Wileman Bros. & Elliot, Inc.: Has the Supreme Court Lost its Way?, 27 Stetson Law Review 1461 (1998)
- A Primer on the Coase Theorem: Making Law in a World of Zero Transaction Costs, 11 DePaul Business Law Journal 1 (1998) (Co-Author)
- A Unified Theory of Justice: The Integration of Fairness into Efficiency, 73 Washington Law Review 249 (1998), Commentaries on Law & Economics: 1997 Yearbook 248 (Robert W. Rhode ed., 1998)
Legal Education
- Stetson University College of Law, magna cum laude, valedictorian, 1997
Associate member of the Stetson Law Review
Admissions
- Florida, 1998
- United States District Court, Middle (1999), Southern (2008), and Northern (2017) Districts of Florida
- United States Court of Appeals, Second, Fourth, Fifth Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits
- United States Supreme Court, 2005