Karen A. Monroe 

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Karen Monroe is a highly regarded international business lawyer focusing on corporate, commercial, tax, and intellectual property law, with a special emphasis on cross-border legal matters between and among the United States, Switzerland, and the European Union.  

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Karen has spent her entire career solving multi-jurisdictional legal issues, and is highly experienced with U.S./Swiss legal issues having spent the past 20 years of her career working in Geneva, Switzerland.   In particular, she assists Swiss companies with interests in the United States, and U.S. companies with interests in Switzerland, to help solve legal issues and expand their businesses.   For dual U.S./Swiss nationals and other dual nationals, she resolves particular legal issues relating to tax, real estate, and estate planning matters.   Karen is also a dual national (U.S./Swiss) and speaks and works daily in English and French.   She is originally from New York City and is admitted to the New York State bar.

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Karen’s clients include individuals, start-ups, and multinationals across a variety of market sectors, including medtech, robotics, biotech, life sciences, food and beverages, software, telecommunications, luxury goods, manufacturing, and entertainment.   Her cross-border legal practice has touched jurisdictions around the world including the United States, Switzerland, China, Russia, Japan, Moldova, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Latin America.

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Karen is immediate past president of the Foreign Lawyers Section of the Geneva Bar Association, a position she held for five years, and served for four years as legal counsel to Democrats Abroad-Switzerland.   She serves as outside general counsel and as a member of the board of directors of Swiss and U.S. for profit and not-for-profit companies.

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Karen regularly speaks at conferences and universities on cross-border legal issues, including teaching MBA-level courses on U.S. contract law and U.S. intellectual property law each year at the University of St. Gallen - the leading business university in Switzerland.  She is also the author of numerous articles on cross-border legal issues, and is an active member of the International Bar Association. 

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Karen earned her J.D. from American University, where she was Editor of the American Society of International Law Journal.  Karen received her bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton.  Karen is admitted to practice in New York and Switzerland.

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Professional Memberships

 

• New York Bar Association

• International Bar Association

• Swiss American Chamber of Commerce

• Geneva Bar Association

• Swiss Bar Association

• Swiss Arbitration Association

 

Speaking Engagements

 

• 2021 SelectUSA Investment Summit, Featured Panelist (June 2021)

• British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce Geneva on the business implications of the 2020 US Presidential Election, Panelist (October 2020)