Alumni Association Executive Committee 2008–2009
Karen L. Hirschman
Term: 2006 — 2009
Karen was born in York, Pennsylvania, graduated from the University of Delaware in 1973 with a Bachelor’s in Mathematics, and then worked for IBM for 5 years in the Washington, D.C. area as a computer programmer. She went back to school at the University of Texas in 1978, obtaining first a Master’s in Government, followed by her J.D. in 1983. Having put down roots in Texas, she clerked for United States District Judge Barefoot Sanders in Dallas, then went to work for Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, L.L.P. where she became partner in 1992. In 1999 she joined Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. as a partner in their Dallas office, where she now serves as Co-Head of the Litigation Section for the Dallas office. She is also a founding member of the V&E Women’s Career Development Council and an elected member of the Management Committee.
Throughout her career, Karen has developed significant experience trying complex commercial cases dealing with a wide variety of industries and subject matters. She has extensive expertise with professional liability claims against lawyers and accountants, securities fraud and corporate governance disputes, and intellectual property matters.
Karen’s daughter Samantha recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a double major in Fine Arts and Psychology. Karen is active in the community, and serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Big Thought, a nonprofit organization that provides arts-in-education services to schools, libraries, and communities in the North Texas area.