CATHERINE J. HOCKENSMITH

Kitty Hockensmith was born and raised in Michigan.  Ms. Hockensmith obtained her bachelor’s in history with minors in philosophy and business from West Virginia University.  She then went on to attend Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law.  Ms. Hockensmith received a full-tuition merit scholarship for law school from Drexel University that she retained through law school.

While in law school, Ms. Hockensmith interned with the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, which protects and advances the constitutional and civil rights of incarcerated individuals in Pennsylvania.  She also interned with the Honorable Charles J. Cunningham, III, of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.  Ms. Hockensmith spent her final year of law school in a co-op placement with then-Alva and Shuttleworth, LLC.

Upon admission to the Pennsylvania Bar, Ms. Hockensmith accepted an attorney position from a boutique criminal appeals law firm in Philadelphia.  After several years of litigating direct appeals, PCRAs, and habeas corpus proceedings, Ms. Hockensmith moved on and into the plaintiff’s civil rights practice area.

In the civil rights practice area, Ms. Hockensmith prosecuted employment discrimination, malicious prosecution, civil forfeiture, excessive force, prison conditions, and other similar and related matters.  Ms. Hockensmith also has experience with professional negligence, consumer protection, and property matters.

In 2025, Ms. Hockensmith joined Joyce, Carmody, and Moran, P.C. as an attorney.  Ms. Hockensmith is admitted to practice in the Federal District Courts for the Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania. 

Ms. Hockensmith resides in Philadelphia with her partner and their three cats.  She is involved in TNRing and rescuing the stray cats of Philly.