Karen E. Ford Esq.

   Ms. Ford is an attorney based in Carmel, California and admitted to active practice in California, Oregon and Colorado. She has been in practice for over 35 years and in all that time has exclusively represented clients in employment and labor law matters. She has represented clients in thousands of employment law matters across the nation including dozens of court and jury trials and appeals to numerous state and federal courts of appeal and to the California and US Supreme Courts. All of this nationwide practice was exclusively in the area of employment law. She has been a frequent pubic speaker throughout the US on employment law issues, has served as a division chair of the American Bar Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Legal Aid Society Employment law center.

    Ms. Ford is admitted to the bar in California, Colorado and Oregon and has represented clients in the United States Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court and the Federal Courts of Appeals for the Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits. In addition to the states in which she is admitted she has represented clients in courts and other forums across the nation including Washington, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Illinois, Utah, and New York.

    During her remarkable career Ms. Ford has handled employment litigation and arbitrations for some of the largest companies in America. She has also represented a wide variety of individuals and both union and non-union employers in traditional labor matters before the National Labor Relations Board, and in administrative proceedings the Department of Labor, the California Labor Commissioner, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the Workers Compensation Boards of California and Colorado. She has also counseled employers and employees with regard to a wide range of employment law matters and negotiated thousands of employment disputes to successful conclusion through settlement.

     Within employment law Ms. Ford handles a variety of matters including: 

Workplace discrimination (race, religion, gender, race, age)

Wrongful discharge

Disabilities in the workplace

Workplace harassment

Workplace retaliation

Wage and hour disputes

Safety in the workplace

Violence in the workplace

Employment Agreements

Executive compensation

Employee benefits and ERISA

Workers compensation

Trade secrets and unfair competition

Non-compete agreements

Union disputes

      Ms. Ford has planned and conducted hundreds of training sessions for thousands of employees and members of management.

      She has conducted employment law risk analysis and risk management including analysis and development of human resources forms, polices, and practices.

     Ms. Ford has drafted all varieties of employment documents including employment contracts, executive agreements, employment applications, handbooks, job descriptions, summary plan descriptions for ERISA plans, performance review forms, termination and layoff notices, and COBRA notices.