Karen Waters Shields

Karen Waters Shields, a partner at the New Orleans office of Kean Miller, brings extensive litigation experience in admiralty and oil & gas casualty issues. Her expertise covers areas such as the Jones Act, personal injury, oil exploration, well blowouts, and various types of vessel and platform damage. Karen's practice spans both offshore incidents in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore matters.

In addition to her focus on admiralty and oil & gas, Karen is skilled in construction law, consumer credit reporting, products liability, and general personal injury litigation. Her legal career began after law school with a clerkship for the Hon. Fredericka H. Wicker at the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson.

Recognized for her contributions to the legal field, Karen received the 2011 Leadership in Law Award from New Orleans CityBusiness and the 2012 Women of the Year award. She was also included in the 2013 Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers and listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers for 2018-2019.

Karen earned her B.A. in Anthropology and Human and Natural Ecology from Emory University in 1993, followed by her J.D., cum laude, with a Certificate of Specialization in Admiralty Law from Tulane University Law School in 1998.