Karen successfully has teamed with General Counsel, Boards and Management for over twenty years to facilitate reaching goals impacted by employment laws. Karen is called on to conduct investigations of Executive Leadership, manage outcomes and sensitive internal communications, and to litigate a broad range of employment claims. She effectively and proactively addresses pre-litigation issues across a variety of industries and creatively manages litigation. Karen meaningfully engages to understand her client, the business and goal at hand, and teams with clients to develop proactive strategies for productive, effective workplaces that capitalize on strengths and limit exposure.

Karen has defended lawsuits in federal and state jurisdictions across the country, including managing the defense of nationwide EEOC investigations and class actions, as well as FCRA and FLSA class actions. She has been called upon to intervene and stop serial litigation where a particular management team has become a focal point. Karen also has extensive experience successfully defending arbitration agreements and prevailing in arbitration proceedings.

Karen’s breadth of experience includes defense of claims under the following federal statutes and similar statutes in various states:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• Section 1981
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• The Equal Pay Act (EPA)
• The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
• Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Workers’ compensation statutes (retaliation)
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)

Karen also partners with clients on broad ranging day-to-day matters of employee attendance, discipline, and performance.

During law school, Karen was the Managing Editor for the Kansas Law Review and served as an intern for Judge Earl E. O’Connor, U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.