Overview
Karen L. Odash is an associate in the firm’s Philadelphia and Minneapolis offices, where she advises employers on the full spectrum of labor and employment matters. As a key member of the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Team, she helps employers navigate the rapidly evolving intersection of AI and the workplace—offering guidance on compliance, risk mitigation, and best practices for implementing AI-driven technologies in hiring, performance management, and other workforce functions.
Karen is a frequent speaker and author on cutting-edge employment and AI topics. She regularly conducts trainings for HR professionals and in-house legal teams and contributes insights on emerging developments in workplace law. She is well-versed in the complex legal and practical issues surrounding AI’s use in the employment context.
Her practice also encompasses a wide range of traditional employment law matters, including defending Title VII discrimination and harassment claims, litigating restrictive covenant and trade secret disputes, and counseling employers on day-to-day workplace issues such as hiring, termination, policies, and regulatory compliance. She represents clients in both district and appellate courts and has worked on hundreds of arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), including trade secret and non-compete matters, U5 defamation and expungement matters, and employment arbitrations involving allegations of wrongful termination, discrimination, and harassment.
Before earning her law degree, Karen spent a decade at a nationally recognized securities broker-dealer, ultimately serving as Director of Legal Programs. In that role, she advised corporate and field leadership on high-stakes employment issues, recruiting practices, and restrictive covenant enforcement, and she played a key role in developing national risk management policies and workforce programs. Earlier in her career, she worked as a paralegal in employment and litigation, giving her a strong foundation for anticipating challenges and crafting proactive solutions for her clients.