Karen Shichman Crawford is co-head of the Products Liability and Toxic Torts division of Duane Morris' Trial Practice Group. Ms. 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.

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.

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

In re Latex Glove Litigation, MDL No. 1148: successfully represented international medical device company in all aspects of national defense coordination
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)

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)

Admissions

Pennsylvania
California
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits

Education

California Western School of Law, J.D., 1980

Law Review

Boston University, B.A., cum laude, 1977

Honors and Awards

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 Warren E. Burger, former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 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

Selected Publications

Co-author, "N.J. Packagers Are Link in Acutrim Liability Chain," Product Liability Law 360 and Health Law 360, July 16, 2008
"Understanding Your Client," Inside the Minds: Leading Product Liability Lawyers, Aspatore Books, 2003
"Utilizing National Coordination Counsel," Martindale-Hubbell Best Practices, 2004