Karen Kishbaugh
"Karen Kishbaugh is a knowledgeable and accessible attorney who demystifies the language of law..."
“Five stars!!! I was looking for someone who could help me with contracts ....someone who could understand my business.” “Karen has moved heaven and the other place to get this agreement done and in place for the sake of the company and frankly, has gone well above and beyond what anyone could ask her to.” “If you are need of assistance, do not hesitate to contact Attorney Kishbaugh. It could be one of the best decisions you make in your life.” This is what Karen’s clients are saying. She is a business attorney and contract geek who loves getting to know her clients’ businesses so that she can understand their individual needs and provide efficient legal services.
Karen partners with business owners and in-house legal teams to provide high-performing corporate contracts and outsourced legal services that reduce risk and improve business operations with services tailored for each individual business. She strives to understand and support her client’s business goals and objectives, is able to quickly identify the risks and benefits of available options, and develops and implement innovative and practical solutions. and providing strategic advice for day to day operations and project development.
After receiving her geology degree at Penn State, Karen and her German Shepherd Dog moved to Colorado where she received her law degree from the University of Denver College of Law. Starting her career as a Colorado Assistant Attorney General, she negotiated innovative consent decrees to clean up large mines under CERCLA and the Clean Water Act, and to address pollution from oil refining. She led large stakeholder groups that included representatives from industry, government and environmental groups, to develop complex regulations. During that time, she served as an Adjunct Professor at the Colorado School of Mines, where she designed the curriculum to teach Regulatory Analysis and Environmental Permitting.
As part of a team of in-house counsel, as general counsel, and as private counsel supplementing in-house counsel, Karen has experience in many industries -- oil and gas midstream, oil and gas distribution, electric utility, water and wastewater, engineering, environmental regulation and permitting, government, franchising, hospitality, restaurants, healthcare, and others. Teams that she has been a part of include DCP Midstream, Caliber Midstream, Operations Management International / CH2MHill, TAB International, Vail Corporation, and Suncor. She enjoys working as with businesses of all sizes and in various stages of development.
Her depth of experience drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of complex commercial contracts, strategizing with business teams, and analyzing risks and solutions, enables her to quickly become an effective part of an organization. These contracts include procurement agreements, services agreements, vendor agreements, operation and maintenance agreements, construction agreements, equipment lease agreements, engineering agreements, statements of work and work orders, connection agreements, commercial leases, technology agreements, asset purchase agreements, buy-sell agreements, and franchise documents.
Karen is an active member of the Colorado Bar Association (“CBA”) where she currently serves on the Executive Council of its Business Law Section, CBA Solo and Small Firm Section (Past Chair of the Executive Council), Denver Bar Association, Colorado Women's Bar Association, Senior Women's Corporate Counsel, WOLF (Women Owned Law Firms), Women's Energy Network, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, and Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy. She has authored several articles regarding the practice of law for The Docket, a publication of the Denver Bar Association.
She still loves living in Denver, where she spends much of her spare time hiking with her husband and dog, snowshoeing, gardening, and enjoying the art museums, galleries and music and theater venues.
