KAREN A. MONSEN
employment law | litigation
Karen A. Monsen
Partner, Caldwell Clark Fanucchi
& Finlayson PLLC
J.D., University of Texas School of Law 2000
License 24027401 by State Bar
of Texas in 2000
KMonsen@CCFFLegal.com
210-225-1655 Main
210-225-8999 Fax
Since 2000, Karen A. Monsen practices employment law and commercial litigation and arbitration in state, national, and international forums. In addition to these general practices, she focuses on electronic discovery, forensic investigations, cybersecurity, and document retention and destruction implementation. She has been hired as an expert in these areas by clients in widely diverse industries and in family-law to nationwide litigation. She has handled numerous appellate matters in the state of Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is licensed to practice in the State of Texas, the United States Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Western, Northern, and Southern Districts of Texas.
Ms. Monsen graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990, when she went to work as Communications Director for the Texas Association of Broadcasters. During that time, she appeared before the Federal Communications Commission and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission representing Texas radio and television broadcasters on diversity hiring issues. She created and edited the association’s legal guidebook series, leading to her decision to go to law school. Ms. Monsen graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 2000. She received the Dean’s Award for copyright law, and was a member of the Southern District champion intellectual property moot court team. She clerked for Honorable Bea Ann Smith on the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas. Ms. Monsen was previously a partner with Jackson Walker, L.L.P. (2001 – 2013) and attorney at King & Sommer, PLLC (2013 – 2019) before joining Caldwell Clark Fanucchi & Finlayson PLLC as a partner in 2019.
Area of Practice and Expertise
Ms. Monsen has 24 years advising clients in various industries on employment and commercial matters. She also litigates on behalf of and advises business clients in connection with employment matters, conducts numerous trainings, and advises on employment policies, controversies and disputes, investigations, litigation avoidance, employment legal compliance, noncompetition and confidentiality agreements, and general risk management strategies. She assists clients in the drafting and periodic review of employment-related agreements, employment policies and procedures, employee manuals, and document retention and detention policies, and assists in the training of companies and their employees in the implementation of these policies and procedures. She also drafts, advises, and litigates executive-level employment agreements.
Ms. Monsen has appeared on behalf of clients before the Texas Workforce Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (civil rights and wage and hour divisions), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Whistleblower Division, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I-9 audits), among others. Her company clients are in a variety of industries with employees in multiple states, including technology, nonprofit, utilities, human resources, financial, environmental, construction, and restaurant industries.
Memberships, Community Involvement, and Service
Ms. Monsen has long donated her time and resources to supporting causes for the homeless and disadvantaged. The year of its inception, Karen volunteered at the first San Antonio Pro Bono Veterans’ Clinic and was paired a homeless veteran with multiple denied unemployment claims before the Texas Workforce Commission. Ms. Monsen achieved an unexpected victory on his claims, and then assisted the veteran into making the transition into living in an apartment outside of the homeless shelter. Due to their success, Ms. Monsen and the veteran presented to audiences from all over the state of Texas about their experience in support of the State Bar of Texas’s Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans program. In addition, she has taken on multiple projects to help the homeless including collecting school supplies for homeless families and collecting and putting together personal care packages for the homeless who prefer not to go to shelters.
Other memberships, community involvement and service include:
· State Bar of Texas
· American Bar Association
· San Antonio Bar Association
· Texas Bar Foundation, 2013 - present
· College of the State Bar of Texas, 2005 - present
· William Sessions Inns of Court, 2011 - 2018
· ARMA International – San Antonio Chapter, 2014 - 2018, Vice President of Programs 2017, Member of Board of Directors 2018 - 2022
· Guest Lecturer and Consultant to Judge Xavier Rodriguez for the Electronic Discovery Class at St. Mary’s Law School 2010 - 2019
· Co-professor of Communications Law at University of Incarnate Word 2005 - 2007
· Leadership San Antonio Class XXXII, 2006 - 2007, co-sponsored by the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
· One of 40 mentors selected for the San Antonio Business Journal’s inaugural BizWomen Mentoring Monday, 2014
Recognition and Awards
· Outstanding Lawyer in Labor and Employment, San Antonio Business Journal, 2013
· Best Lawyer in Labor and Employment, Scene in SA, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
· State Bar of Texas, Access to Justice Commission Champion of Justice 2013
· Texas Monthly Rising Star, 2006, 2008
· Distinguished Toastmaster, Toastmasters International
Presentations and Publications
· Conducting numerous human resources, employee, and supervisor employment law training sessions for clients throughout the year
· “Managing Privacy and Upcoming ADA Issues,” San Antonio Manufacturers Association Annual Employment Law Conference, February 22, 2024
· “Did COVID-19 Forever Change I-9 Compliance Measures?” San Antonio Manufacturers Association Annual Employment Law Conference, February 2023
· “Confidentiality Matters,” Sarma Annual Associates Meeting, November 18, 2022
· “Heightened Employee Privacy Protocols in the Age of COVID,” live webinar San Antonio Manufacturers Association Annual Employment Law Conference, March 3, 2021
· “Tales of 4 Hacks,” Texas Water Conservation Association Risk Management Fund Risk Management Seminar, October 20, 2020
· “Common Legal Issues and Threats Against Business,” live webinar for Lorman Education Services, September 29, 2020
· “Document Retention in the Age of Covid-19,” ARMA International San Antonio Chapter, September 22, 2020
· “Closing a File: Communicating, Destructing, and Purging While Maintaining Confidentiality,” live webinar for Lorman Education Services, July 31, 2020
· “Cyber-Security Essentials for HR Professionals,” live webinar for Lorman Education Services, March 25, 2020
· “Coronavirus and Employers,” Caldwell East & Finlayson Blog, February 25, 2020
· “Cybersecurity,” Guest Speaker, San Antonio Manufacturers Association, at the SAMA 15th Annual Employment Law Seminar, February 22, 2020
· ARMA San Antonio Conference, Organizer and Master of Ceremonies, February 20, 2020
· “Texas Public Entity Document Retention and Destruction,” December 2019
· “Cyber Insecurity: We Are Our Weakest Link,” Guest Speaker, Sarma annual Associates Meeting, November 14, 2019
· “What HR Professionals Need to Know About Cybersecurity,” Guest Speaker, San Antonio Society for Human Resource Management, 13th Annual Employment Law Conference, August 21, 2019
· ARMA San Antonio Conference, Organizer and Master of Ceremonies, February 22, 2019
· Named as one of the “Best Lawyers” by SA Scene in the practice areas of Labor & Employment, Employment Lit: Defense, and Information Technology (2018) as selected by her peers
· “A Day in your Life,” South Texas Society for Human Resource Management, Annual Seminar, co-presented with Leanne King, CEO of SeeKing HR, November 1, 2018
· “Leveraging Cloud Computing with AI,” San Antonio Chapter of ARMA, co-presented with Don Douglas, CEO of Liquid Networx, October 16, 2018
· “What HR Professionals Need to Know about Cybersecurity,” San Antonio Society for Human Resource Management, Employment Law Conference, August 22, 2018
· “Cybersecurity,” South Texas Alarm Association, June 12, 2018
· “Notetaking and Recordkeeping,” Texas Electric Cooperatives, May 8, 2018
· “HR Document Hygiene,” Texas Electric Cooperatives, May 8, 2018
· “Document Retention and Destruction: What HR Professionals Must Know,” live webinar for Lorman Education Services (repeat presentation), April 26, 2018
· “Document Retention and Destruction, Texas School Assessors Association” 51st Annual Conference in San Marcos, April 10, 2018
· “Your Employee Files: Your Best Evidence,” San Antonio Society for Human Resource Management, General Meeting, March 6, 2018
· “Conquering Cloud Computing Contracts,” Austin/San Antonio ARMA Annual Seminar, February 23, 2018
· “Electronic Record Retention: Mistakes HR Professionals Can Avoid” live webinar for Lorman Education Services (repeat presentation), February 20, 2018
· “Combating and Avoiding Insider Threats” Live Webinar for Lorman Education Services, January 30, 2018
· “Employee Document Retention and Destruction Policies and Strategies” Live Webinar (repeat presentation) for Lorman Education Services, October 26, 2017
· “Right to Work Laws in Texas” Live Webinar for Lorman Education Services, October 17, 2017
· “Electronic Record Retention: Mistakes HR Professionals Can Avoid” Live Webinar (repeat presentation), August 3, 2017
· Panel Participant at 2017 South Central Information Governance and E-Discovery Retreat, in San Antonio, Texas, May 22, 2017
· “Document Retention and Destruction: What HR Professionals Need to Know” (repeat presentation), presenter, Live Webinar for Lorman Education Services, April 11, 2017
· “Privacy, Social Media, and Technology Issues,” presenter, Employment Law: Changes & Challenges seminar, presenter, Holiday Inn San Antonio Downtown Market Square, for Sterling Education, April 5, 2017
· “Electronic Record Retention: Mistakes HR Professionals Can Avoid,” presenter, Live Webinar for Lorman Education Services, February 21, 2017
· “Employee Document Retention and Destruction Policies and Strategies,” presenter, live webinar for Lorman Education Services, October 17, 2016
· “Keep Calm and E-Discover On,” presenter, St. Mary’s Law Journal 14th Annual Symposium on Legal Malpractice and Ethics, February 27, 2015
· “HR Recordkeeping,” presenter, University of Texas at San Antonio Small Business Development Center for the HR Hot Topic-Brown Bag luncheon, February 5, 2015
· Author of “Duty to Preserve,” Chapter 1 of Essentials of E-Discovery, published by the State Bar of Texas, 2014
· “Discovery,” presenter, San Antonio Bar Association, Federal Courts Committee's Arc of a Case, November 14, 2014
· “e-Discovery in Patent Cases,” presenter, TexasBarCLE Advanced Patent Litigation, July 17, 2014
· Author of “Employment Law Issues When Buying and Selling a Business in Uncertain Times” for Sterling Education Services
· “Sexual, Racial, and Other Harassment and Discrimination,” Speaker on “Employment Law: Beyond the Basics” for Sterling Education Services, April 2, 2014
· “The Duty to Preserve and Litigation Holds,” co-presenter, TexasBarCLE eDiscovery in Your Case, March 28, 2014
· “Telecommuting Employees,” Alamo Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators, January 16, 2014
· “When First Amendment Rights Collide,” San Antonio Lawyer, September/October 2013
· “How Has the Supreme Court Changed Employment Practices?” Laredo Human Resources Management Association Meeting, July 10, 2013
· “Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans,” TEX-ABOTA [Texas American Board of Trial Advocates] Santa Fe Roundup, June 29, 2013
· “Telecommuting Employees: Benefits and Risks” South Texas Human Resources Symposium, May 9, 2013
· “How to Respond to Unemployment Claims” Co-presenter, Lunch and Learn Series, February 5, 2013
· Featured in “Serving Those Who Have Served,” UTLAW Magazine, the Magazine of the University of Texas School of Law, July 2012
· “Update on Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans,” Report from the President Terry Tottenham to the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, June 22, 2011
· Speaker at South Texas Human Resources Symposium, May 2, 2011
· “Pro Bono Spotlight: Victory for a Veteran,” Texas Access to Justice Commission Update, December 2010
· Cover Story, “Pro Bono Victory for a Veteran,” Subpoena Newsletter of the San Antonio Bar Association, November 2010
· “Meet the Experts Table Host,” National Association of Women Business Owners, October 2010
· “Social Media: The Good, Bad, and Ugly,” Tech and Tequila Road Show, May 3, 2012
· Quoted in “E-discovery,” San Antonio Business Journal, Sept. 16, 2010
· “E-Discovery,” co-presenter with Judge Xavier Rodriguez, TexasBarCLE Advanced Intellectual Property Law Course, March 5, 2010
· Quoted in “The un-employees,” San Antonio Business Journal, November 8, 2009
· Quoted in “Stopgap measures,” San Antonio Business Journal, August 16, 2009
· Quoted in “Rising Claims,” San Antonio Business Journal, May 31, 2009
· “Document Retention and Destruction in Texas,” Moderator and Speaker for Lorman Education Services, April 28, 2009
· “Employment Law Update,” Sterling Education Services, Inc., August 20, 2008
· Guest Speaker, San Antonio Society of Health Care Human Resource Administrators, January 15, 2008
· “Document Retention and Destruction,” Moderator and Speaker on Employment Recordkeeping and Destruction Requirements” for Lorman Education Services, November 8, 2007
· Quoted in “The closed voir dire for Martha Stewart,” The National Law Journal, January 26, 2004
· “Privacy for Prospective Jurors at What Price? Distinguishing Privacy Rights from Privacy Interests; Rethinking Procedures to Protect Privacy in Civil and Criminal Cases,” Texas Review of Litigation, 2002 (an article which has been widely cited in opinions and legal treatises around the country, too numerous to mention)
EDUCATION
The University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas School of Law
SELECTED PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC AFFILIATIONS
State Bar of Texas
American Bar Association
San Antonio Bar Association
Texas Bar Foundation
RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
A San Antonio Top Attorney in Labor and Employment, San Antonio Magazine, 2023
Outstanding Lawyer in Labor and Employment, San Antonio Business Journal, 2013
State Bar of Texas, Access to Justice Commission Champion of Justice 2013
Texas Monthly Rising Star, 2006, 2008
Distinguished Toastmaster, Toastmasters International
RECENT PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
“Did COVID-19 Forever Change I-9 Compliance Measures?” Guest Speaker, San Antonio Manufacturers Association’s 2023 Employment Law Seminar, February 23, 2023
“Cyber Security Training,” Guest Speaker, San Antonio Human Resource Management Association, Inc.’s 13th Annual Employment Law Conference, August 21, 2019
ARMA San Antonio Conference, Organizer and Master of Ceremonies, February 22, 2019
Named as one of the “Best Lawyers” by SA Scene in the practice areas of Labor & Employment, Employment Lit: Defense, and Information Technology (2018) as selected by her peers
“A Day in your Life,” South Texas Society for Human Resource Management, Annual Seminar, co-presented with Leanne King, CEO of SeeKing HR, November 1, 2018
“Leveraging Cloud Computing with AI,” San Antonio Chapter of ARMA, co-presented with Don Douglas, CEO of Liquid Networx, October 16, 2018
“What HR Professionals Need to Know about Cybersecurity,” San Antonio Society for Human Resource Management, Employment Law Conference, August 22, 2018