Karen Cordry

Karen Cordry is bankruptcy and special issues counsel for the National Associaiton of Attorneys General in Washington, D.C. She serves as a resource person to the states for all issues relating to the effect of bankruptcy on the activities of the attorneys general. In particular, she provides substantive support for the states with respect to any bankruptcy filings by tobacco companies (of which there have been six to date). Ms. Cordry conducts a yearly seminar on bankruptcy topics, maintains a large list of state and local contacts dealing with bankruptcy issues, and writes a monthly Bankruptcy Bulletin on recent cases of interest to government counsel. She also works with the states in several other areas, including assisting states in presenting property-damage claims in asbestos cases, maintaining liaisons with securities fraud litigators, and serving as a representative of the states on the Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee, which deals with the U.S. Trade Representative on world trade issues. She also maintains a contact list and conducts an annual seminar on state defensive litigation to assist the Offices of the Attorneys General in dealing with suits brought against the states in a variety of areas. Previously, Ms. Cordry was a field attorney with the National Labor Relations Board in Detroit and with the Office of Appeals’ Appellate Court and Contempt Litigation Sections in Washington, D.C. She is a frequent contributor to the Affairs of State column in the ABI Journal. Ms. Cordry received her B.S. in biochemistry from Michigan State University in 1973, her J.D. from Wayne State University in 1977 and her LL.M. from George Washington University in 1987.