Jane A. McAtee
Mark M. Brennan
Catherine L. Garvey
Eight months after co-founding the firm that bears her name, Catherine L. Garvey is leaving Brennan, Garvey LLC to become the associate general counsel for University of Chicago Medicine.
In her new role, Garvey will also serve as the executive director of the university’s self-insurance program. She will also oversee the university’s medical-malpractice litigation and will have the ability to select law firms to represent UCM as outside counsel.
In an interview, Garvey expressed excitement at working at UCM again. Garvey initially began her career as a pediatric cancer nurse at the university’s children’s hospital in 1984.
“It was just too unique of an opportunity not to take,” Garvey said. “There really is no other university I would go to at this stage of my career than the University of Chicago.”
Garvey’s impending departure invoked bittersweet emotions from herself and her colleagues at Brennan, Garvey: it’s a great opportunity, but they are going to miss each other.
“The decision has been a difficult one,” Garvey said. “Because I really am happy to be doing what I am doing at this firm and am so proud of what we’ve built. But it’s really a unique opportunity to take on additional challenges.”
Mark M. Brennan, a partner at Brennan, Garvey, also remarked that Garvey was faced with two “once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”
“It doesn’t come back,” Brennan said. “Once this position is offered and it’s declined, then that’s it.”
Garvey said she was initially approached by her UCM predecessor, Jane A. McAtee, two years ago to succeed her when she retires. Garvey applied for the position, but she hadn’t heard anything about it until a month ago.
Meanwhile, Garvey and Brennan left their prior firm, Cassiday, Schade LLP in July 2015, opening their own firm with two other partners and six lawyers.
Garvey is set to leave the firm in May. For the first few months, McAtee will show Garvey the ropes until she retires at the end of the summer, Garvey said.
Brennan indicated the firm will change its name at some point, but in the meantime, they are focused on the transition.
“She is just an exceptional attorney, a wonderful partner and a great friend. I am really, really, honored to have always known her,” Brennan said. “We’re happy for whatever makes her happy.”
Brennan recalled how Garvey kept working almost immediately after she had suffered stress fracture in her foot.
“She will not let anything stop her — she’ll do it better than anybody,” Brennan said.
Garvey and her colleagues took their clients — including UCM — when they left to start their own firm. UCM maintains a roster of firms they work with on medical-malpractice cases, choosing firms based on facts in the case and the firm’s prior work with UCM, McAtee said in an interview.
Apart from Brennan, Garvey, UCM works with firms like Johnson & Bell Ltd., Swanson, Martin & Bell LLP, Lowis and Gellen LLP, Stamos & Trucco LLP, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer PA, and Pretzel & Stouffer Chtd., McAtee said.
In addition to choosing the university’s outside counsel, McAtee said the position involves work with plaintiff’s attorneys and tackling “really interesting medical ethics issues” — Garvey highlighted this point as a perk of her new job.
McAtee indicated Garvey’s prior experience as a nurse for UCM gave her an edge in the selection process.
“Being able to be patient and supportive and explain it to (our doctors and nurses) as well as telling it like it is was an important part of our search,” McAtee said.
“The fact she was also a nurse was a big plus,” she added.
McAtee said she does not expect the normal roster of law firms the university hires to change. Garvey expressed similar sentiments, indicating she wants to be on the job for a few months before offering up her own ideas on how to change things.
“I anticipate going in and learning the job and learning what’s been going on there for years, and making decisions from there,” Garvey said. “I don’t foresee going in and making major changes right away.”