Lawyers

Karen Beyea Schoder has been Of Counsel to Burnett Law Firm since 2017, focusing her practice on mass torts, including dangerous drug and defective medical device litigation. She has been licensed to practice law since 1997 and is admitted to practice in both the state and federal courts in Arizona, New York, New Jersey, and Texas. She is also licensed to practice in the United States Supreme Court, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Karen has worked at some of the top law firms in the region. In addition to her current work, she has also represented clients in cases involving military criminal law, medical malpractice defense, and healthcare litigation. She has always focused her career on helping those in need.

Since 2009, Karen has been involved in some of the largest mass tort lawsuits in the country. She has represented thousands of victims against Bayer, Zimmer, Ethicon, American Medical Systems, Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Coloplast, Neomedic, Mentor and Cook. She also served on the Zimmer Knee Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. Karen has worked on the national investigation teams for Trasylol, Zimmer Knee and Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Currently, Karen has been appointed to help women who were prescribed Vaginal Mesh products by serving as the co-lead of MDL 2511 In Re: Neomedic litigations, where she works to lead the national investigation on behalf of the thousands of people injured.  Karen also works on the Plaintiff Steering Committees for MDL 2187 In Re: C.R. Bard, Inc., MDL 2327 In Re: Ethicon, Inc., MDL 2325 In Re: American Medical Systems, MDL 2326 In Re: Boston Scientific Corp., and MDL 2782 In Re: Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh, as well as JCCP 4887 the California Coordination for the Essure Litigation, where she also works on the national investigation against these medical device manufacturers.

A U.S. Army Veteran, Karen has also helped victims harmed by pharmaceuticals and medical devices in cases such as those involving testosterone, Essure, Levaquin, Cipro, and Avelox. She has also assisted retired NFL players who suffered concussion-related injuries.

With exceptional attention to detail, she is continuously analyzing the facts and law to develop solutions for any legal challenge. Karen believes that communication with each client is the key to success. Of what it’s like to work with her, peers say, “Karen is an excellent advocate for her clients.”

Karen graduated from Canisius College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Political Science in 1994. Subsequently, she earned her law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1997.

She has been selected by her peers for inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers from 2020 to 2023. She has also achieved an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell. In addition, Karen has been selected for inclusion in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers for multiple years. She is a member of the Houston Bar Association, American Association for Justice, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Women En Mass, and The State Bar of Texas.