Kathryn Nester Biography – Kathryn Nester Wiki

Kathryn “Kathy” Nester is a criminal defense attorney and a partner at Nester Lewis PLLC in Salt Lake City, Utah. She has been trying cases in federal and state courts for over 30 years. Several of her cases have received national and international press coverage and her cases have been featured on CourtTV, in the New York Times and on national and local television programs.

Kathy served as the head of Federal Defender offices in both Salt Lake City and San Diego for over ten years, according to a biography on the webpage of her law firm. Kathy was asked by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court to serve on the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence.

She also served on the National Steering Committee for the Clemency Project during the Obama Administration, which managed over 4,000 lawyers in an effort to assist over 36,000 applicants with presidential clemency applications.

Before becoming a federal defender in Utah and San Diego, Nester practiced law extensively in Mississippi. She worked as an assistant federal public defender in Jackson from July 2005 to July 2011 and was a partner at the firm Christopher & Nester, PLLC in Ridgeland from June 2002 to July 2005.

Earlier in her career, she was an associate at the Jackson-based firm Kitchens & Ellis from March 1994 to July 1997. She went on to operate her own practice in the city from July 1997 to June 2002.

Kathy has been admitted into several elite trial-lawyer organizations including the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. She has received several awards from her peers including Mississippi Trial Lawyer of the Year, and the Federal Bar Distinguished Service Award from the District of Utah.

Education

Kathryn graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in International Business from The University of Texas at Austin in 1989. She received her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law in 1992.

Kathryn Nester Age

Criminal defense attorney Kathryn N. Nester was born in 1967.

Kathryn Nester Husband

Veteran trial lawyer Kathryn Nester is married to Steven. She has been married to her junior high school sweetheart for more than three decades.

Kathryn Nester Family

Kathryn Nester and her husband, Steven, have two daughters, Katie and Caroline. The two adult daughters are also in the legal field.

Attorney Kathryn Nester Tyler Robinson

On September 24, 2025, the Utah County Commission unanimously approved a contract to appoint attorney Kathryn Nester as counsel for Tyler James Robinson, who is charged with shooting and killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a university appearance in Utah on September 10, 2025.

The defense team and prosecutors met with Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf in Provo for a waiver hearing on Monday, September 28, 2025. Due to security issues, Robinson listened in to the waiver hearing from the Utah County Jail. The hearing lasted just over 10 minutes.

The lead defense attorney, Kathryn Nester, was officially appointed by the court for Tyler Robinson at the hearing and officially accepted the appointment.

“The court enters findings that the combined experience of counsel meets and exceeds the requirements,” Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf said. Judge Graf reminded attorneys that Robinson is presumed innocent and that he won’t put his “finger on the scale of justice.”

“As this case moves forward, Mr. Robinson’s constitutional rights will be protected at every stage,” Judge Graf said. “He sits before this court presumed innocent and that presumption remains unless and until each element of every offense charged against him is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”