Karen Smith

Karen is an accomplished appellate and post-conviction attorney and has authored briefs in the Arizona Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court. She has represented individuals convicted of the most serious felonies on appeal, in post-conviction proceedings in state and federal court, and before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency. Karen also frequently contributes amicus briefs on a variety of criminal and policy matters in the Arizona and federal appellate courts. Karen previously served as Senior Litigation Counsel at the Arizona Justice Project, where she represented wrongfully imprisoned individuals in post-conviction proceedings in state and federal court, and as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Capital Habeas Unit representing those sentenced to death in federal habeas corpus matters. Karen had the privilege of helping both Barry Jones (Arizona) and Ha’im Sharif (Nevada) regain their freedom after each served 29 years on death row as a result of being wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Karen is also an experienced civil litigator and has represented individuals and corporations in a variety of civil rights and complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts. She is skilled at all aspects of civil trial practice, including discovery, depositions, motion practice, and summary judgment. A former attorney in the general counsel’s office of a federal enforcement agency, Karen also has experience and insight to advise clients on administrative and regulatory matters.

Karen received a B.A. in economics, cum laude, from Harvard University. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she served as Executive Articles Editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. She began her legal career as a law clerk to Federal District Judge James S. Gwin.