M. Karen Thompson

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PDF of Biography

Areas of Practice

• Products Liability Defense
• Labor & Employment
• Litigation
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Appellate Practice
• Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices

Bar Admissions

• New Jersey
• New York

• U.S. District Court
  • District of New Jersey
  • Southern District of New York
  • Eastern District of New York
• U.S. Court of Appeals
  • Third Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Education

• Rutgers School of Law - Newark
  • J.D., 1978
• Monmouth University
  • B.A., magna cum laude, 1974

Professional Affiliations

• New Jersey State Commission of Investigation
  • Commissioner,1995-2001
• Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct
  • 1998-2012
• Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice
  • 1990-2000
• Supreme Court Committee on Trial Attorney Certification
  • 1992-1998
• District XIII Ethics Committee
  • Chair, 1988-1989
• Somerset County Bar Association
  • President, 1992-1993
• New Jersey State Bar Association
  • Products Liability Section
  • Employment Law Section
• New Jersey Defense Association
• Defense Research Institute
• New Jersey Audubon Society
  • Board of Directors

News

• Thirty-Two Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Attorneys Selected for Inclusion in Best Lawyers
• Twenty-Seven Norris McLaughlin Attorneys Recognized by New Jersey Super Lawyers

Publications

• NM&M Employment Law Blog, December 2011 to present
  • Termination for "Irresistible Attraction" Not Unlawful
  • Update on Legislation to Protect Social Media Access and Passwords
  • Anti-Discrimination Law Expanded to Cover Claims for Anti-Semitic Slurs Against a Non-Jew
• "Manufacturers Face Increased Risk of Products Liability Suits in New Jersey," NMM Products Liability Law Alert, March 2010
• "Hot Topics In Labor And Employment Law," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, June 2009

(Click here for a complete list of Publications)

Presentations

• Current Wage & Hour Challenges, Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., Bridgewater, New Jersey, February 24, 2010
• "Managing Products Liability Risk for Manufacturers and Distributors," Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, Bridgewater, New Jersey, November 11, 2009
• "Hot Topics in Labor & Employment Law 2009," Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., Bridgewater, New Jersey, June 18, 2009

(Click here for a complete list of Presentations)

M. Karen Thompson, a member of the firm, has been certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney since 1987. She has extensive experience in complex corporate and commercial litigation. She has defended both Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 companies in a broad range of matters on the trial and appellate levels.

Karen’s practice is currently divided between products liability defense and employment litigation. She regularly defends equipment manufacturers, chemical, pharmaceutical and tobacco companies and other entities in products liability actions, including class actions and suits seeking medical monitoring. In addition, she defends management against claims of wrongful discharge, violation of whistleblower statutes, all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment in both state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies. She has also represented boards of various entities in defending against claims of mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, and discrimination.

As a qualified mediator, Karen mediates civil lawsuits in regard to employment or product liability claims.

Karen has received an "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest accolade. For a seventh year she has been selected for inclusion in the Business Litigation section of New Jersey Super Lawyers® 2013. Only five percent of New Jersey attorneys are given this honor. Since 2006 Karen has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in Labor and Employment. Most recently, Karen is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 2012 in Labor and Employment and Products Liability Litigation. She has been included among the Outstanding Women in Somerset County by the Commission on the Status of Women, for her leadership role in a variety of organizations. Karen authored numerous publications on subjects including products liability, employment claims, and directors’ and officers’ liability.

Prior to joining the firm, Karen served as a law secretary to the Honorable Morton I. Greenberg, Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division.

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Publications

• NM&M Employment Law Blog, December 2011 to present
  • Update on Legislation to Protect Social Media Access and Passwords
  • Anti-Discrimination Law Expanded to Cover Claims for Anti-Semitic Slurs Against a Non-Jew
• "Manufacturers Face Increased Risk of Products Liability Suits in New Jersey," NMM Products Liability Law Alert, March 2010
• "Hot Topics In Labor And Employment Law," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, June 2009
• Ledbetter Act Extends Limits on Filing Disparate Wage Claims, NMM Labor & Employment Law Alert, February 2009
• "Third Circuit Court of Appeals Rules State Law Failure-to-Warn Claims Preempted in Anti-Depressant Cases," New Jersey State Bar Association, Product Liability and Toxic Tort Newsletter, July 2008
• "Recent Court Rulings Affect Punitive Damages," New Jersey Lawyer, May 14, 2007
• "Punitive Damages Rules Change," Litigation Alert, March 2007
• "FDA Reaffirms Its Firm Stand on Preemption," New Jersey Defense, Vol. 22, Issue 3, June 2006
• "A New Duty to Deter Illicit Internet Activity," Somerset Business, May 2006
• "Employers: New Duty to Police Employees' Illicit Internet Usage," Labor & Employment Alert, January 2006
• "A Simple End to Complex Instrumentalities," New Jersey Law Journal, December 5, 2005
• "Evidence of Post-Accident Repairs: Admissible or Not?," Products Liability Law Alert, September 2005
• "When Does A Plaintiff Need an Expert?," New Jersey Law Journal, December 6, 2004
• "Leading Our Legal Profession With High Ethical Standards," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, March 2004
• "More Obstacles to Pretrial Dismissal of Discrimination Cases," Labor & Employment Law Alert, May 2003
• "Hostile Work Environment: A Single Comment May Be Enough," Labor & Employment Law Alert, April 2002
• "A New Look at the Worker's Compensation Defense in Products Liability Cases," Products Liability Law Alert, March 2002
• "Lowering The Bar," New Jersey Law Journal, December 3, 2001
• "New Jersey Employment Agencies Must Be Licensed With the State," Labor & Employment Law Alert, October 2001
• "Design Defects in New Jersey Following the 1997 Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability," New Jersey Law Journal, December 4, 2000
• "State-of-the-Art: Whose Art; What Was Known; and When?," Products Liability Law Alert, November 2000
• "If You Think Your Company is Beyond the Reach of the NLRB Because You Have a Non-Union Workforce, Think Again," Labor & Employment Law Alert, October 2000
• "Products Liability and Rico Claims," Products Liability Law Alert, August 2000
• "Warranty: The Stepchild of Product Liability," Products Liability Law Alert, July 2000
• "Arbitration Agreements Revisited," Labor & Employment Law Alert, May 2000
• "Punitive Damages," Products Liability Law Alert, January 2000
• "Drawing the Line on Foreseeable Misuses," Products Liability Law Alert, October 1999

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Presentations

• "Current Wage & Hour Challenges," Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., Bridgewater, New Jersey, February 24, 2010
• "Managing Products Liability Risk for Manufacturers and Distributors," Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, Bridgewater, New Jersey, November 11, 2009
• "Hot Topics in Labor & Employment Law 2009," Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., Bridgewater, New Jersey, June 18, 2009
• "When to Call Your Lawyer: A Seminar for Business Owners & Executives," NMM Women's Forum Seminar, Bridgewater, New Jersey, November 18, 2008
• "2008 Hot Topics in Labor & Employment Law," Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., Bridgewater, New Jersey, June 17, 2008
• Speaker, HR Roundtable, Commerce & Industry Association of New Jersey, Paramus, New Jersey, February 7, 2007
• Speaker, 2007 Corporate Counsel Institute, sponsored by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education in association with the New Jersey State Bar Association, New Brunswick, New Jersey, January 24, 2007
• "I'm Liable for What? Employers Liability for Policing Pornography in the Workplace," Hot Topics in Labor & Employment Law 2006, Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Seminar, June 1, 2006, Bridgewater, New Jersey

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