Karen is the Director of Professional Development and Practice Support in the Toronto office of FMC with over 25 years of experience in the legal profession both with law firms and with an in house legal department of a major corporation. Karen oversees internal and external professional development and education for the Toronto office including associates, students and paraprofessionals. As part of her role she is responsible for the on-going development and administration of in-house continuing legal education programs. Karen also acts as a supervisor, leader, mentor, advocate, trainer, financial watchdog, evaluator, problem-solver, and resource manager to the paraprofessional group. Karen’s role is strategic in maintaining a well trained, properly utilized and motivated paraprofessional staff.

Karen is currently the President and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Paralegal Management Association (IPMA), Karen also sits on the paralegal advisory board of a local community college and regularly teaches in its part-time paraprofessional program.

As guest speaker at several conferences across North America, Karen has presented on topics including “Implementing your Corporate Database – You Bought It Now What?”, “Effective Communication – Improving Your Skills to Effectively Collaborate with Colleagues” and “Retaining Your Key Paraprofessionals”.