Gov. Phil Scott on Friday announced that Kate Gallagher will fill the most recent vacancy on the Vermont Superior Court bench, marking the governor’s 20th such appointment.
The Williston resident has worked in state government for almost 20 years, in both the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and as commissioner of the Vermont Department of Human Resources. Before moving to Vermont, she was a partner in private practice in New Jersey.
Gallagher also played a leading role in representing the state’s interest in the EB-5 investor fraud scandal that played out in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, including the settlements eventually reached in state civil enforcement cases against former Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros and Bill Stenger, the past resort’s CEO and president.
She will leave her current role as an assistant attorney general to take on the new position. Her tenure in the office included a period as the head of the Civil Division.
“Kate has demonstrated a strong commitment to public service through her work in the Attorney General’s office and as a commissioner,” Scott said in a press release announcing the appointment. “I’m confident that she will continue to serve the people of Vermont well, and I’m grateful for her willingness to take on this new challenge.”
“I would like to thank Governor Scott for this honor, and pledge that I will do my best to serve Vermonters with integrity, compassion, and humility,” Gallagher said in the release. Efforts to reach for her comment Friday were unsuccessful.
Gallagher has a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the College of William and Mary and graduated cum laude from the National Law Center at George Washington University, according to the governor’s office.
The announcement comes months after Scott appointed five new judges to earlier vacancies. Gallagher is expected to start in March, joining her five peers who began their tenures in January.
“I am thrilled to have this opportunity to continue to serve the people of Vermont,” she said in the release.
Alan J. Keays contributed reporting.
Correction: An earlier version mischaracterized the positions of Scott’s five earlier appointments.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Gov. Phil Scott appoints Williston woman to fill state Superior Court vacancy.