Our People

James W. Morhard

Jim holds a degree in accounting from Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, an MBA from George Washington University and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University.  He is admitted to the practice in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.

In 1978, Jim became an analyst for the Secretary of the Navy and the Navy Comptroller in the Pentagon.  He reviewed procurement and research and development appropriations. 

In 1983, he was selected by then-United States Senator Pete Wilson of California to serve as one of his advisers in his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

In 1985, Jim became the Military Legislative Assistant to then-United States Senator Robert W. Kasten, Jr. of Wisconsin.  In 1989, he became the Senator’s Legislative Director and was responsible for managing all of the Senator’s legislative efforts.

In 1991, he joined the staff of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  Until 1997, he served as Staff Director of the Military Construction Subcommittee and Professional Staff on the Defense Subcommittee.  In his role as Military Construction Staff Director, Jim reviewed over $10 billion in military construction, Base Realignment and Closure, family housing, environmental restoration, and Navy shipbuilding appropriations. 

In 1997, Jim was named Staff Director of the Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee.  He worked directly for then-Chairman Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.  Prior to 9/11, Jim drafted and passed legislation for, and oversaw the funding and implementation of, exercise, training, and equipment grant programs for State and local first responders to a terrorist attack.

In 2003, Jim became the Chief of Staff of the Senate Appropriations Committee.  As Chief of Staff, Jim managed a staff of sixty-eight and assembled, personally negotiated, and passed the fiscal year 2004 and 2005 Omnibus appropriations bills.  To win passage of these bills, Jim worked closely with House and Senate Leadership, as well as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

After leaving the Senate in the winter of 2005, Jim founded the law firm of Morhard & Associates, LLC.  He has also been a guest lecturer on the legislative process at Harvard University, the Naval War College, and Georgetown University.  Jim is an adjunct professor at the Naval Post Graduate School and a member of the board of Saint Francis University.  Jim also serves on the advisory board for the U.S. Institute of Peace.

- Read article on Jim published in The Hill

Katherine H. Gronberg
Katherine Gronberg graduated from Yale University in 1997 with a B.A. in Political Science.  In 1998, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research in Bologna, Italy, in comparative politics.  In Italy, Katherine was affiliated with the University of Bologna and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

In the fall of 1999, Katherine joined the New Hampshire primary campaign of then-Governor George W. Bush, under the leadership of Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH).  She went on to co-manage the NH Bush effort in the general election. 

After serving on the Bush campaign, Katherine moved to Washington, D.C. to work for Senator Gregg, then the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies.  She became a Professional Staff Member on the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) Subcommittee in November of 2000.  As Professional Staff on the Committee, Katherine was responsible for appropriations for the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, portions of the Department of Justice, U.S. trade agencies, and several independent agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Small Business Administration. 

In January of 2005, Katherine was named Staff Director of the CJS Subcommittee.  Shortly after assuming this position, the Senate Appropriations Committee underwent a reorganization in which responsibility for State Department and Federal Judiciary appropriations was transferred to other Subcommittees, and responsibility for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Science Foundation appropriations was transferred to CJS.  As Staff Director, or “Clerk” of the reconstituted Subcommittee, under the leadership of Subcommittee Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) and Full Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS), Katherine managed all aspects of the $52 billion fiscal year 2006 spending bill for the aforementioned agencies, from the drafting of the bill and report, to Committee and Senate floor action, to the negotiation of a final conference agreement with the House Appropriations Subcommittee.  In addition, Katherine managed the CJS portion of two emergency supplemental appropriations bills for the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

In January of 2006, after six years of service in the U.S. Senate, Katherine accepted the position of Vice President with Morhard & Associates.  At Morhard & Associates, she has represented and advised clients from a number of different sectors, including defense, aviation, homeland security, building materials, and information security and management, on all aspects of their relationships with the federal government. She serves as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors of The International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue, known informally as The Hollings Center.  Katherine also serves on the Safety and Security Advisory Board for the Institute for Public Research at The Center for Naval Analysis.  In May of 2009, Katherine completed her master's degree in business administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business with honors.

Photos by George Tolbert