Bio

Education and Early Career

Karen was raised in Southern Oregon and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Oregon University in Ashland.  Karen then moved to the Portland Metro area to pursue her law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School, where employment law quickly became the focus of her academic and professional interests.  She has dedicated her career almost exclusively to employment law with particular emphasis on wage and hour law, representing employees in Oregon, Washington and federal courts.

Legal Philosophy

Karen’s approach to employment law is straightforward and unwavering: when employees work, they deserve to be paid their wages on time and as required by the law.  This fundamental principle drives every case and client interaction.

Commitment to Workers’ Rights

Karen understands that wage and hour violations can significantly impact workers and their families. Her extensive experience navigating Oregon’s employment laws, combined with a deep commitment to protecting workers’ rights, ensures that clients receive knowledgeable representation and the compensation they are legally entitled to receive.

Experience and Case Success

With over 20 years’ experience, Karen, along with her partners, has represented more than 139,000 employees in wage and hour matters, handling both individual cases and complex class action litigation. Her comprehensive advocacy has successfully recovered unpaid wages, overtime compensation, minimum wage violations, wages for meal period violations and off-the-clock work, unlawfully deducted wages, penalty wages, civil penalties, and liquidated damages for clients.

Speaking Engagements and Professional Leadership

Due to her experience in wage and hour law, Karen is contacted by attorneys regarding litigation of wage and hour cases under Oregon law and the Fair Labor Standards Act. As part of the Oregon State Bar Labor and Employment Section Annual CLE Boot Camp, she has jointly presented “Nuts and Bolts of Wage and Hour Laws” each year from 2015 through 2019, and in 2021 through 2025.  She has also presented “Wage and Hour Basics” covering Oregon, Washington, and federal laws at the Oregon Labor Law Conference.

Personal Interests

Outside of her legal practice, Karen enjoys quilting, house diy and gardening, bringing the same attention to detail and dedication to her personal interests as she does to her clients’ cases.