Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, P.C. congratulates Kate Durso, a shareholder in the firm’s Real Estate, Land Use & Development, for being named to the 2026 GlobeSt. CRE Women of Influence list for CRE Legal Counsel. This list highlights women shaping the future of commercial real estate and their leadership, innovation, and impact in the industry.
Kate Durso’s CRE career
Working in the commercial real estate industry as an attorney for over 30 years, Kate hasn’t merely witnessed change, she’s influenced it.
Early in her career at FLB, Kate found herself assigned to several telecommunications cases for major companies like Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. These companies needed legal support to navigate land use and zoning approvals in the Lehigh Valley as they created infrastructure for cell phone towers, unpopular and unwanted by many communities in the 1990s and early 2000s. She got a reputation for being the “Cell Phone Tower Attorney” and advocated for her clients up through several levels in the court system, leveraging her astute knowledge of land use law. She has obtained approvals for over 700 wireless communications facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
These early experiences taught Kate the importance of relationships. Being a regular at municipal meetings meant lots of face time with planners, engineers, and local government officials. Kate stood out early in her career, many times she was the only female in the room. Beyond this, state agencies have become more involved on the regulatory side of things (notably since the pandemic), adding more red tape to her clients’ CRE projects. Having a strong rapport and long-standing relationships with municipalities and financial institutions, as well as her knowledge of local, state and federal regulatory statutes, helps make her clients’ transactions smooth and successful.
How Kate Durso helps CRE clients today
Today, Kate regularly represents commercial developers of mixed use, multifamily, manufacturing facilities, hotels, residential developments, and the growingly controversial warehouses and data centers. With the evolution of social media and virtual meetings, the public is more engaged in land development and zoning hearings, often with objections. She helps ensure municipal decisions align with zoning and land development ordinance, and gives a strong voice to CRE developers who seek to invest in local infrastructure. She consistently faces opposition, often due to misinformation and objector groups, with grace and grit and a winning track record.
As involved as Kate is in the Lehigh Valley’s CRE world, she is involved in several local nonprofit and charitable organizations including Penn State Lehigh Valley, St. Ann’s Church Emmaus, Lehigh Valley Chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley, Volunteer Challenge and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital’s Women’s Giving Circle.
All CRE Women of Influence honorees will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the GlobeSt. Women of Influence Conference at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in July 2026.
Congratulations, Kate!
