Sarah Knutson named managing partner at McCarty Law LLP

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

September 8, 2025

APPLETON – When Sarah Knutson joined McCarty Law LLP in 2019, she said she didn’t expect she’d one day make firm history.

Now, six years later, she’s doing just that.

Knutson has been named managing partner – the first woman to assume that role in the firm’s 75-year history – and will lead alongside Scott Barr, who has served in that capacity for several years.

Barr said her promotion reflects McCarty Law’s long-standing commitment to succession planning and internal leadership development.

A seasoned attorney with more than 15 years of experience, Knutson said she’s ready to take on a new challenge – helping guide the business side of the firm’s future.

“We talk about providing high-level client service and a focus on client needs, and that includes needing our own succession plan,” she said. “Scott and I are co-managing partners because there is so much that goes into the role to ensure McCarty is here for its clients for the next 75 years.”

Knutson said she looks forward to many aspects of the role, particularly the opportunity to mentor younger attorneys and support their development within the profession.

“We want to work with people who are passionate, intelligent and really dedicated to not only serving clients but also to growth…, creating a core so McCarty can be here for generations to come,” she said.

Knutson said she sees part of her new role as helping usher in the next generation of attorneys – mentoring, guiding and creating growth opportunities.

Recently working on a demanding, high-stakes project with a business associate, she said she saw firsthand the value of that mentorship

“Seeing that progression was very rewarding,” she said. “That’s why I am excited about putting on a [slightly] different hat – one that takes me off my personal path and onto one where I can help the firm grow the next generation to ensure we stay competitive and stay McCarty.”

An unconventional start

Knutson said her journey to McCarty Law was a bit of a winding one, as she began working in commercial lending for a bank after earning her bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. 

She said she and her brother then purchased and successfully ran a small business in northern Wisconsin that he continues to own.

Knutson said it was during her time as a business co-owner that she began to feel pulled toward something more – and when it came time to choose between an MBA or law school, she chose the latter.

“Working in the business, I learned about the law and worked with a lawyer and found a passion for it,” she said. “[One] way for me to be a good business partner was to learn the law, and that prompted me to go to law school.”

After earning her Juris Doctorate in Law from Marquette University, Knutson said she worked for two small law firms in Milwaukee.

One, she said, exposed her to litigation; the other – a boutique business firm – introduced her to mergers and acquisitions experience.

Knutson said business ownership and her work at the two Milwaukee-based firms

set the stage for her role with McCarty Law when she joined the firm in 2019.

Since that time, she said she has concentrated her practice in corporate and business transactions, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.

Knutson said she advises clients buying or selling small family businesses or multimillion-dollar enterprises. 

She said her firsthand experience in both banking and business ownership helps her offer practical, informed guidance throughout the process.
“My previous experience allows me to be that next level of business partner to clients, because I understand financing and can have more in-depth partner discussions with clients on the business side of things,” she said. “I bring a unique perspective, especially with the family-owned business clients at McCarty, and understand where they’re coming from.”

In addition to understanding how to read a profit and loss statement and balance sheets, Knutson said McCarty Law also helps clients take a broader view – bringing in estate planning or employment law expertise as needed to support a smooth and strategic sale. 

She said she finds the multifaceted nature of those situations both challenging and rewarding.

“We can tie in everything and represent clients as a whole, not just as a business or an individual,” she said. 

With clientele ranging from small, family-owned businesses to multimillion-dollar corporations, Knutson said she thrives on helping them with their succession planning and other business transaction needs.

Though she said she does find great satisfaction in helping smaller businesses.

“Most people haven’t bought and sold a company before, especially on the selling side, and it’s usually their single largest asset,” she said. “We can provide clients with an economical option for their legal counsel and [help them], as selling their business is not just handing it over but so much more – from employee transitions and how to provide for insurance after closing.”

Knutson said she and other team members strive to create long-term client partnerships through efforts like these – which she said is evident in the way the firm lives its values, from being approachable and responsive, to the high quality of their work and how they conduct themselves with integrity and civility.

Those and other values, Knutson said, set the tone for a people-centric workplace.

“It’s incredibly important because we spend a lot of time at work and with the people around us, including clients,” she said. “The people here are incredible. Our culture is one of open doors, not a hierarchy, respect for staff knowledge and [operating] as a team, because when we are a team, we’re the best.”

Knutson said that team includes 16 attorneys – nine partners and seven associates – which grew a bit over the summer with the addition of three summer associates from Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She said she recognizes the importance of being intentional in welcoming another generation into their doors.

“That’s a continuous growth pattern for us – getting [team members] into McCarty to build the next generation,” she said. “I am the one shaping and helping the next generation, a great group of associates, and it’s really rewarding.”

Beyond the office

Knutson said she embraces yet another of McCarty Law’s values in her community orientation. 

Living in Appleton with her spouse and their four children, Knutson said she gives back to the children of the community through her volunteerism with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley.

She said she has served as a director since 2021 and on the personnel, legal and insurance committee, for which she assumed the chair position this year.

Among her highlights, Knutson said, is contributing legal input in the process of building the state-of-the-art club facility in Neenah. 

“I really wanted to do something in the community that had to do with kids, and the Boys & Girls Club truly cares about kids of all racial and socioeconomic [backgrounds] and that resonates with me,” she said. 

Knutson said her own children – ages two, four and a half, seven and eight and a half – keep her and her spouse on the go.

Life, she said, is often a blur of soccer, basketball, camp and karate, as well as traveling up north as a family and spending as much time as possible outdoors.

Knutson said she also has discovered a newfound affinity for pickleball. 

A full-circle moment

When she reflects on her decision to leave Milwaukee for McCarty Law six years ago, Knutson said it’s a decision she now calls one of the best of her career.

Drawn by the firm’s strong reputation, client-focused approach, talented staff and commitment to community, she said she did her due diligence – and now sees it coming full circle as she steps into the co-managing partner role alongside Barr.

“Her passion for our clients and this community positions the firm for continued success,” Barr said.