Katherine L. Adams is an American attorney and executive who serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Apple Inc., a position she has held since April 2017. In this role, she oversees all of Apple's global legal affairs, including intellectual property protection, privacy and data security, regulatory compliance, government relations, and litigation. Adams has played a pivotal role in addressing major legal challenges for Apple, such as disputes with the U.S. Department of Justice over encryption and privacy, antitrust scrutiny from regulators worldwide, and numerous patent infringement cases. Her tenure has been marked by a focus on ethical technology practices and defending Apple's business model amid increasing global regulatory pressures.

Prior to joining Apple in 2013 as Vice President and General Counsel, Adams built a robust career in corporate law. She began practicing law at Hopkins & Sutter in Chicago after graduating from Cornell Law School. She later moved to Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, specializing in complex litigation. From 1999 to 2013, she worked at IBM, where she advanced to Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, managing international litigation, antitrust matters, and intellectual property strategies during a period of significant technological evolution.

Adams is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, and Cornell Law School, where she obtained her Juris Doctor in 1989. Known for her strategic acumen and collaborative style, she maintains a relatively low public profile despite her influential position at one of the world's most valuable companies. There are no major public controversies or legal issues directly involving Adams personally, though her work at Apple has placed her at the center of high-stakes industry debates.