Karen, a partner in the Product Liability Litigation and Environmental groups as well as a member of the firm’s PFAS Regulation & Litigation team, provides strategic counsel to industrial, life sciences, commodity chemical and pesticide companies on high-stakes matters.
Karen is a nationally recognized leader in PFAS litigation, defending clients in environmental contamination claims arising from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. She navigates clients through the rapidly shifting regulatory landscape, including EPA's enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFAS in drinking water, CERCLA hazardous substance designations and aggressive state-level standards, to develop proactive defense strategies that address complex causation, toxicology and exposure science and strategic risk allocation in this high-profile and expanding area of environmental law.
Karen has led nationwide mass tort litigation involving claims of wrongful death and personal injury in state and federal courts, securing favorable jury verdicts in multimillion-dollar drug and device cases. She also frequently defends clients against claims involving chemical exposures and environmental contamination and advises clients on environmental compliance and risk management.
As a first-chair trial lawyer, Karen partners with clients to assess pre-litigation risks, including conducting early case assessments and developing best practices to mitigate those risks consistent with each client’s goals. She works closely with clients to understand the complexities of their business, with a sharp focus on aligning legal tactics with business objectives.
Her litigation experience also includes cases involving surgical robots, orthobiologics, prosthetic devices, pain pumps, surgical mesh, intraoperative monitoring tools, lasers and other complex medical technologies. She also advises on FDA compliance, Safety Data Sheets, Medicare reporting obligations and internal policy development to help manufacturers avoid regulatory pitfalls.
Beyond her substantial PFAS practice, Karen’s litigation portfolio includes product liability, mass tort and class action defense, as well as breach of contract disputes, unfair business practice claims and California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (Proposition 65) matters. She has secured defense verdicts in multimillion-dollar actions, obtained summary judgments on critical liability issues and prevailed in binding arbitrations across a range of complex commercial and environmental disputes.
Karen is particularly skilled in offensive discovery, helping clients uncover key facts to support both affirmative claims and strong defenses. She is a trusted legal partner known for developing tailored strategies that mitigate risk and drive successful outcomes.