Kari represents employers in a variety of employment cases, including claims for harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, employee defection, and wage-and-hour disputes. She also has substantial experience representing debtors in Chapter 7 bankruptcies and providing litigation advice to small businesses defending ADA premises accessibility lawsuits.

Drawing on her experience as an owner of a fourth-generation family business, she advises clients on implementing and drafting policies on issues such as leaves of absence, drug testing, and trade secret/confidentiality.

While in law school, Kari assisted a Los Angeles non-profit law firm with settling a class action national origin discrimination lawsuit by drafting the employer’s language policy. She also served as a full-time extern to the Honorable Josephine Staton of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, in Santa Ana.

Prior to entering the practice of law, Kari taught English at universities in California and Hawaii, with a research focus on workplace language policies. She also worked for several years in the entertainment industry, notably at a venerated music magazine and a multi-national film and television production studio.

Experience

• Argued issue of first impression before Orange County Superior Court Appellate Division panel and won case, setting legal precedent in county.
• Won remand from US District Court for client appealing decision of federal administrative agency.
• Litigated discharge of $203,000 in federal student loans in bankruptcy adversary proceeding.

Professional Activities

• Member, ABA
• Member, Federal Bar Association
• Member, Orange County Bar Association
• Member, Orange County Women Lawyers Association

Community Activities

Kari annually presents at local schools for Constitution Day as part of the Constitutional Rights Foundation/Federal Bar Association.

She is especially proud to partner with Vitamin Angels, which provides dietary supplements to mothers and young children in impoverished communities around the world. She recently accompanied them to Peru, trekking into remote villages in the Andes to meet with women who had directly benefited from the in-kind donations made by her family company.

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