Meet the Team
Katy McClure
As co-founder of McClure Burden, Katy McClure has spent nearly two decades specializing in employment law as a means of protecting the rights of employees. Katy believes, after family, employment is often the biggest part of people’s lives and protecting your life at work protects your life at home.
Through her client-first approach, Katy provides customized legal representation for employees navigating discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, and equal pay as a means of retaining humanity in the workplace.
Katy’s drive to make change in the state of New Jersey was born of a desire to vindicate the rights of those who have been wronged. Taking flight from her humble Appalachian roots, Katy earned her B.A. from Montclair State College. While working full-time as an employment paralegal, Katy attended law school at night and earned her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law-Newark.
Since then, the arc of Katy’s career has seen her become an associate at one of New Jersey’s most preeminent plaintiffs’ employment law firms; make partner at two law firms; secure substantial judgements and settlement amounts for clients, most notably in the sexual assault case of Katie Brennan v. Murphy for Governor, the equal pay case of Varela v. Verona, and the gender discrimination case of Loretta Pickus v. AC Ocean Walk.
Having been at the vanguard of pivotal verdicts, Katy prides herself in being directly involved in the evolution of New Jersey’s employment law. This history enables her to know where the law has been, where it can go, and how it can work to best protect you.
As one who believes in giving voice to the voiceless, Katy is now taking the next logical step: co-founding a law firm with Jim Burden as a means of being able to help people the best way she knows how—ensuring justice in the workplace.
Jim Burden
Jim Burden co-founded McClure Burden with the vision of creating a firm that has the fortitude to navigate the rigorous nature of employment law with compassion, dedication, and honesty.
He fights for the rights of employees with an unmatched tenacity because he lives for the moments when he is able to change the law and change lives. With subject-matter expertise in federal and state employment law, Jim tailors his approach based upon the needs of clients, whether that’s addressing issues of discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, or equal pay.
Jim has 30 years of civil litigation experience, with more than 20 years of that spent working on the cutting edge of employment law in New Jersey. His general practice experience, paired with his employment law experience, makes him uniquely positioned to help clients understand how litigation works and guide them in making decisions that serve their best interests.
Before co-founding McClure Burden, Jim distinguished himself as a senior associate within the ranks of prominent employment law firms in the state of New Jersey. Here, he was at the frontline of critical legal precedents, transforming the legal landscape, exemplified by the landmark equal pay case of Norcia v. NJCU. Furthermore, he has secured substantial settlements on behalf of his clients, most notably in the discrimination case of Viola v. City of Hackensack and the retaliation case of Shouldis v. Township of Teaneck.
From his formative years at Muhlenberg College to his education at New York Law School, Jim is driven by how the power of knowledge can enrich and empower our lives. As an intelligent and creative legal mind that has evolved with employment law, he is able to look to the past to protect your future. And with that evolution, he is now ready to take his passion a step further and join forces with Katy McClure, establishing a practice that sets an unrivaled standard for plaintiff’s employment law.