The Hon. Kathleen A. Meehan is an associate justice for the California Fifth District Court of Appeal. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2017, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Dennis A. Cornell.
Meehan earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Mary's College of California. She then completed a J.D. at the University of California, Davis School of Law in 1985.
After graduating from law school, Meehan entered into private practice in Los Angeles, where she specialized in large-scale securities and business litigation. She worked as an associate at Buchalter Nemer (1985 to 1989), Stroock & Stroock & Lavan (1989 to 1991), and Freshman, Marantz, Orlanski, Cooper & Klein (1992 to 1994).
Meehan relocated to Fresno in 1994. At that time, she joined Baker, Manock & Jensen, where she handled securities, business, agriculture, estate, and civil appeal cases. Meehan worked in that capacity for twelve years, most of which was spent as a shareholder of the law firm.
In 2008, Meehan left the private practice and became a deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice. She represented public agencies in complex and constitutional litigation matters. Then, in 2011, she was selected to serve as a commissioner for the Fresno County Superior Court. Meehan was named judge of the Fresno County Superior Court three years later.
Her memberships have included the Fresno County Bar Association, Fresno County Women Lawyers as well as the California State Bar Legal Services Trust Fund Commission and the Standing Committee on Delivery of Legal Services. She sat on the Board of Directors of Central California Legal Services and the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations.
Meehan was raised in Fresno.
She is registered as a Democrat.