Katie M.D. Rios

Katie Rios is an associate in Womble Bond Dickinson’s Labor and Employment Practice Group. Katie provides advisory services to employers, as well as represents employers in federal and state courts, and before administrative agencies such as the Arizona Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Her representation includes defending claims of discrimination and harassment under Title VII and the Arizona Civil Rights Act, addressing wage and hour disputes under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and litigating the enforceability of restrictive covenants. Katie also assists employers with navigating federal and state employment law, and conducting employee investigations. 

Katie also brings significant experience in complex commercial litigation. She has litigated cases involving breach of contract, negligence, premises liability, insurance bad faith, and claims brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), among others. She has handled all aspects of litigation, including drafting complaints, responsive pleadings, and case-dispositive motions; conducting discovery; taking and defending depositions; examining witnesses at trial; and settling matters through mediation and settlement conferences. 

While in law school, Katie served as Editor-in-Chief of the Arizona Law Review. She was also a student attorney for the Domestic Violence Law Clinic at the University of Arizona, where she assisted clients in matters relating to domestic violence and abuse, including advice and counsel for divorce proceedings and representation for contested Order of Protection hearings. Prior to her time as a student attorney, Katie served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Lynnette C. Kimmins of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, where she drafted trial and court orders, and report and recommendation summaries on prisoner petitions for habeas corpus.