Karen Shichman Crawford practices in the area of complex commercial litigation, and has extensive experience in matters involving contract disputes, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition, products liability and medical device litigation. Ms. Crawford is skilled at coordinating large-scale litigation for clients in a broad range of matters. As national counsel for an international medical device company, she successfully coordinated all defense efforts for her client in over 400 cases filed in federal and state courts throughout the United States. More recently, Ms. Crawford assisted the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight ("OFHEO") in its special examination of Fannie Mae, which resulted in a the submission of a Report to Congress in May, 2006, the $400 million settlement by Fannie Mae, and in OFHEO's administrative prosecution of charges against former high-level Fannie Mae executives in which millions of dollars in penalties were sought. Her coordination capabilities also proved to be a valuable skill when she spearheaded an internal investigation of stock option practices on behalf of a special committee appointed by the board of directors of a publicly traded company. Ms. Crawford previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California, and as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Ms. Crawford was among the top 1 percent of her peers to be selected to receive the Director's Award for Superior Performance. Admitted to practice in California and Pennsylvania, Ms. Crawford is a graduate of the California Western School of Law, where she served as the Head Notes and Comments Editor of the Law Review, and a cum laude graduate of Boston University. Areas of Practice · Commercial Litigation · National and Regional Litigation Coordination · Unfair Competition · Theft of Trade Secrets · Products Liability Representative Matters · Smith v. United States, 557 F. Supp 42 (W.D. Ark. 1982) · Wolfe v. United States, 604 F. Supp 726 (S.D. Ca. 1985) · Sipes v. Unites States, 111 F.R.D. 59 (S.D. Ca. 1986) · Consumers Produce Co., Inc. v. Volante Wholesale Produce, Inc., 16 F.3d 1374 (3rd Cir. 1994) · Bateman v. General Medical Corp., 29 Pa. D.&C. 4th 1 (Ct. Common Pleas 1996) · Burden v. Johnson & Johnson, et. al., 332 F. Supp. 2d 1023 (S.D. Tex. 2004). · In re Latex Glove Litigation, MDL No. 1148: successfully represented international medical device company in all aspects of national defense coordination Professional Activities · American Inns of Court Foundation
- Board of Trustees, 1995-2000
- Secretary, 1996-2000 · Inns of Court
- Louis Welsh Chapter (Master, Executive Board)
- Hon. J. Clifford Wallace Chapter (Master, Founding Member)
- Pittsburgh Chapter (Master, Counselor Emeritus)
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law Chapter (Honorary Member) · Lawyer's Club of San Diego
- Co-Chair, Scholarship Fund for Justice
- Member, Endorsement and Nominations Committee · Council of Visitors for California Western School of Law Honors and Awards · Listed in San Diego Super Lawyers, 2010 and 2011 · Recipient of the 1998 A. Sherman Christensen Award, American Inns of Court Foundation, "in recognition of . . . inspiring leadership within the American Inns of Court movement and her committed efforts to improve the American Legal profession." The first woman to receive this distinguished Award; other recipients include the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, and the Honorable Howard T. Markey, former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. · Director's Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Department of Justice, 1988 · AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell Selected Publications · "Legislative Modification to Tort Liability: The Unintended Consequence of Public Health Bioterrorism," accepted for publication in the Creighton Law Review · "Electronic Discovery Act Becomes Law in California, Effective Immediately," Duane Morris Alert, July 2, 2009 · "Split Vote by CPSC Signals That Tracking Labels Must Be Placed on Children's Products by August 14, 2009," Duane Morris Alert, May 27, 2009 · Co-Author, "Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Lipke Exclusionary Rule in Nolan v. Weil-McLain," Duane Morris Alert, April 17, 2009 · "Not-So-Smooth Sailing Under CPSIA," Law360, March 27, 2009 · "Anticipated Policy Changes for Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Funding Under the Obama Administration," Duane Morris Alert, January 30, 2009 · Co-author, "New Final Rule Clarifies FDA's View On Preemption," Product Liability Law 360 and Health Law 360, August 29, 2008 · Co-author, "N.J. Packagers Are Link in Acutrim Liability Chain," Product Liability Law 360 and Health Law 360, July 16, 2008 · "Best Practices: Utilizing National Coordination Counsel," Counsel to Counsel Magazine (Martindale-Hubbell), January 2004 · "Understanding Your Client," Inside the Minds: Leading Product Liability Lawyers, Aspatore Books, 2003 · "Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial-Third Circuit" (1996), American Inns of Court Series, Lawyers Cooperative Pub. Co., 3 Volume Set, Co-Edited with Hon. Robert J. Cindrich (Ret.)(U.S. D.Ct., W.D. Pa.), and Thomas P. Wagner |