Phone: (919) 787-7711
Facsimile: (919) 787-7710
kprati@wrlaw.com
Bio
Kristine L. Prati concentrates her practice exclusively on workers’ compensation defense, where she represents the interests of employers and their carriers. She became recognized as a Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law in 2010, with recertifications awarded in 2016 and 2021. In 2014, Ms. Prati became a Member of Wilson Ratledge, PLLC, joining the Founder Members Thomas J. Wilson and James E.R. Ratledge as the third Member of the Firm. On June 10, 2023, Ms. Prati began serving a 3-year term as a member of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys Board of Directors. She previously served as the 2022-2023 Chair and 2021-2022 Vice-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Practice Group of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys.
Ms. Prati appears regularly at mediations, as well as Industrial Commission hearings at the administrative, Deputy Commissioner, and Full Commission levels. She is also well versed in the Rules of Appellate Procedure and when necessity dictates she represents her clients before the North Carolina Court of Appeals.
Ms. Prati is a certified instructor through the North Carolina Department of Insurance and has lectured before workers’ compensation professionals, both in-house and at organized continuing education seminars, regarding current workers’ compensation issues and defenses, including: Best Practices for Communicating with Physicians, presented at the 2024 North Carolina Industrial Commission annual conference; Impact of Recent Opinions in Workers’ Compensation, presented at the 2023 North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys’ 46th Annual Meeting; “Futility” Cases In Workers’ Compensation, presented at the 2022 North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys’ 45th Annual Meeting & 12th Biennial Judicial Candidates’ Forum; Erosion of the Employer’s “Right to Control” Medical Treatment, presented at the 2021 North Carolina Public Risk Management Association’s (PRIMA) annual conference and 2021 North Carolina Association of Self-Insurers’ annual conference; Insurance Product Primers, presented at the 2021 North Carolina Advocates for Justice’s annual conference; 2016-2017 Case Law Update, presented at the 2017 North Carolina Association of Self Insurers’ annual conference; Injuries by Accident in North Carolina; Protect and Put North Carolina Back to Work; Claims Handling in North Carolina; Interplay between Benefits; and Undocumented Workers and Workers’ Compensation Benefits.
Ms. Prati graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a degree in Legal Studies. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ranked 23rd in the nation at the time of her entry. During law school, Ms. Prati was a regional finalist on the JESSUP moot court team, worked for a solo practitioner during all three years, and interned at the District Attorney’s office in Kingston, New York.
Areas of Practice
- Workers’ Compensation Defense
Education
- J.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003
- B.A., State University of New York, magna cum laude, 2000
Bar Admissions
- North Carolina, 2003
Professional Activities
- North Carolina Bar Association: Member of the Workers’ Compensation Section
- North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys
- Wake County Bar Association
- Defense Research Institute
Certifications
- Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law, North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization