Meet Your Team
Kathryn N. Nester
Kathy Nester is an experienced trial lawyer who has been trying cases in federal and
state courts for over thirty years. Her sixty-plus jury trials have included a wide variety of complex cases including capital murder, murder, complex fraud, sex offenses, drugs and weapons cases in criminal courts and wrongful death, civil rights violations, employment discrimination and serious personal injury cases in civil courts. 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. One of her homicide trials was the subject of a nationally published book by an award-winning author.
Kathy’s reputation for outstanding work in the courtroom has been recognized by her admission 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. Kathy has entered appearances in thousands of cases across the country, including cases in Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and California. 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.
Kathy served as the head of Federal Defender offices in both Salt Lake City and San Diego for over ten years. 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.
Kathy has been married to her junior high school sweetheart for thirty-five years and is aproud mom to two grown daughters and a son-in-law, who all entered careers in thelegal field. In her spare time, Kathy enjoys singing in her church choir, watching goodmovies, solving puzzles and traveling to anywhere near water.
Wendy M. Lewis
Wendy Lewis graduated from the University of Utah College of Law in 1991, where she was a William H. Leary Scholar and a member and editor of the Utah Law Review. Upon graduation she moved to Denver, Colorado, where she clerked for the Honorable Robert H. MacWilliams of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. While clerking for Judge MacWilliams she worked on both Federal civil and criminal cases of all varieties. It was during this clerkship that she developed her love of criminal law.
In 1992, Wendy returned to Utah and worked as an associate for a private law firm where she handled complex criminal cases, and a variety of civil matters including personal injury, domestic and contract law. Wendy took numerous state and federal cases to trial while in private practice, including homicide, rape and fraud cases, and achieved a number of acquittals for her clients. Of particular note were the cases of State of Utah v. Valentino Colorow, in which Mr. Colorow was found not guilty of first degree murder, and State of Utah v. John Blanchard, in which Mr. Blanchard was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Wendy also argued matters before the Utah Court of Appeals, the Utah Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 1997 Wendy returned to clerking and spent the following three and a half years as a law clerk to the Honorable Dale A. Kimball, Federal District Judge for the District of Utah. She again worked on cases in all areas of the law and became familiar with the inner workings of the federal bench in Utah. In January of 2001 Wendy became an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Utah, where she spent the next 21 years representing indigent defendants in Federal Court. During this time, she developed a focus on federal sex offenses and she is well-known for obtaining extremely favorable outcomes for her clients.
Wendy also developed a reputation for outstanding representation of offenders under age 25 and has successfully argued for probation for serious felonies based on the brain development of young offenders. She also worked on many high profile and complex cases including United States v. Brian David Mitchell. Wendy served as the representative of the Utah Federal Public Defender’s Office in the District of Utah’s Tribal Reentry Court, where she traveled to tribal lands and worked with members of the tribal nations on successfully reentering society following federal convictions. For the past nine years, Wendy served as a senior-level supervisor in the FPD office and was assigned responsibility for case assignment, hiring and diversity recruitment efforts.
Wendy is active in the Federal Bar Association, the Utah Women Lawyers Association, and the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She also serves as a mentor to law students and has worked as a volunteer in educational institutions. In 2022 Wendy joined her good friend and former colleague Kathy Nester to start Nester Lewis PLLC. Wendy is licensed to practice in Utah federal and state courts and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Wendy is a fifth generation Utahn and the mother of twin sons.
Paralegals
Katie Eleanor
Katie graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. After graduating, Katie volunteered with the Federal Public Defenders of Utah, assisting with filing, client communication, trial preparation, and jury selection.
In 2018, Katie moved to San Diego, and began working with the community as a Registered Behavioral Therapist, aiding children and families throughout the area.
Katie is thrilled to join the Nester Lewis team as a Paralegal and to help fight for the rights of their clients, while continuing to reside in sunny California.
Colleen Lewis
Colleen joined Nester Lewis, PLLC as a Paralegal in 2023. Colleen has a diverse professional background spanning profit and nonprofit sectors.
With a degree in psychology and a theatre, film, and television graduate degree, she transitioned from acting to founding a nonprofit arts training center in Salt Lake City, leading as Artistic Director for over a decade.
She then became president of Creative Agenda, Inc. in Los Angeles, overseeing film and television professionals where she continues as a board member and consultant. In her free time, Colleen enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.