She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in 1969 and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1973.

She was a staff attorney in the legal office of the University of Chicago from 1982 to 1984.

[4] She served as a United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of Illinois from 1984 to 1996.

On March 29, 1996, Gottschall was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by James Byron Moran.

She was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 25, 1996,[5] and received her commission on August 1, 1996.