Karen Wentzel has more than 30 years of experience representing clients in a wide variety of business disputes, with special expertise in the laws governing sexual harassment, sex, race, age and disability discrimination, wrongful discharge, employee raiding and misappropriation of trade secrets, and stock options. She regularly appears in both state and federal courts, before state agencies and in private arbitrations.

Karen regularly provides clients with strategic employment counseling advice on wage and hour matters, commission plans, reductions-in-force, unfair competition, reasonable accommodation, protecting proprietary information, employee raiding and non-solicitation issues and personnel matters. Her clients particularly value her practical approach to complex employment issues tailored to meet their unique business needs. She works closely with clients to help them resolve disputes when they do end up in litigation, involving them at each step in the process to evaluate the costs and benefits associated with the choices going forward.

Her practice also includes extensive experience collaborating with companies and senior executives in negotiating employment contracts, and transition and severance agreements. She regularly provides expert advice on employment issues arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions.

Karen is a member of the State Bar Association of California, the Santa Clara Bar Association and the Palo Alto Bar Association.

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Education

  • Stanford University, J.D., 1983
  • Colgate University, B.A., 1978

Admissions

  • California

Courts

  • U.S. Ct. of App., Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Dist. Ct., N. Dist. of California
  • U.S. Dist. Ct., Dist. of Colorado

Memberships & Affiliations

  • Member of the State Bar Association of California
  • Member of the Santa Clara Bar Association 
  • Member of the Palo Alto Bar Association.

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