Photo of attorney Karen C. Stafford

Karen
C.
Stafford

  • Senior Member

Biography

Karen Stafford’s practice is primarily focused on litigation and insurance coverage. Ms. Stafford’s diverse litigation practice includes insurance bad faith litigation, general commercial litigation, premises liability, product liability, auto liability, professional liability, restaurant and hospitality liability, wrongful death, nursing home liability, and appellate law. With respect to her insurance coverage practice, Ms. Stafford advises clients on a wide range of complex insurance issues, including first party, third party, and bad faith actions. Ms. Stafford has presented numerous seminars and continuing legal education presentations in the areas of insurance coverage, wrongful death, medical funding, and more. Ms. Stafford has also served as an adjunct professor at Arizona State University at the W.P. Carey School of Business and at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in the areas of business law and legal research and writing.

Education

  • Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Northern Arizona University
    • B.S.
    • Honors: Magna Cum Laude
    • Major: English

Bar Admissions

  • Arizona
  • U.S. District Court District of Arizona
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
  • United States Supreme Court

Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2023, Commercial Litigation
  • Arizona State Law Journal, Research Editor

Publications and Presentations

  • Civil Trial, Everything You Need to Know: The New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, National Business Institute May 8, 2017, Dec 14, 2021
  • Civil Trial, Everything You Need to Know: Amendments to State Civil Rules, National Business Institute May 8, 2017
  • Insurer, Agent and Broker Liability: Who Can Be Held Liable and When?, National Business Institute Mar 10, 2017
  • Insurer, Agent and Broker Liability: Arizona HB 2129, Is It Unconstitutional?, National Business Institute Mar 10, 2017
  • Workers’ Compensation Bad Faith Law in Arizona, Insurance Law Institute Feb 5, 2017
  • Discovery Under the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Preservation of ESI and Litigation Holds, National Business Institute Dec 2, 2016
  • Wrongful Death Litigation: Upholding Ethical Standards in Wrongful Death Cases, National Business Institute Mar 18, 2016
  • DRI: Duty to Defend Compendium, Defense Research Institute Feb 15, 2016

Representative Cases

  • Black v. Sensing Enterprises Inc., 2020 WL 7625306 (Ariz. App. Dec. 22, 2020)
  • DiPasquale v. DiPasquale, No. 1 CA-CV 16-0356 FC, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, September 7, 2017
  • Moran v. Moran, No. 1 CA-CV 16-0686 FC, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, November 14, 2017
  • Velazquez v. Logan, et al., No. 16-15485, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, January 4, 2018

Professional Associations

  • The Harmonie Group
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Arizona Association of Defense Counsel

Past Positions

  • Arizona Court of Appeals, Honorable Donn Kessler