Karen A. Andersen

As a Partner in the Partner Practice Group, Karen A. Andersen assists individual partners and groups in navigating the lateral marketplace. Having spent the last decade recruiting and hiring more than 200 partners for two major law firms and opening three offices, Karen has extensive firsthand knowledge of law firm partner recruiting, including compensation analysis, and can adeptly identify synergistic opportunities as well as potential issues for both partners and firms.

Karen founded Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Seattle office in 2003 focusing on lateral partner placement and in-house legal searches. She returned to MLA in 2019 after more than 10 years of serving as chief lateral recruitment officer for Perkins Coie and Pepper Hamilton. In these roles, she worked closely with practice group chairs, office leaders, and firm management and oversaw all aspects of the sourcing, recruitment and hiring of lateral partners and Of Counsel throughout the country. Karen has particular knowledge of the Southern California market having overseen Perkins Coie’s lateral partner growth in Los Angeles and opening that firm’s San Diego office. At Pepper Hamilton, she oversaw lateral partner and Of Counsel growth in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Before opening the Seattle office of Major, Lindsey & Africa, Karen served as managing director and general counsel to the advisor of two Bechtel Enterprises and GE Capital-sponsored venture capital funds. Prior to that, she practiced corporate securities law as an associate at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison in San Francisco and as a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine and Summit Law Group in Seattle.