Karen Winner(I)
Karen Winner is a nationally renowned legal consumer advocate, author
and attorney. In 1996, before she became an attorney, Winner wrote the
nationally-acclaimed book, Divorced From Justice: The Abuse of Women
and Children by Divorce Lawyers and Judges, (ReganBooks/Harper Collins.
She is credited with creating the Statement of Client Rights, a
consumer protection disclosure that all divorce lawyers are required to
provide to their clients in New York. Winner gained national attention
for her extraordinary investigations on behalf of victims of lawyer
abuse and legal fee exploitation, exposing the dynamics of divorce
court proceedings, uncovering the too-common scene of unethical lawyers
using the fee-for-profit system for self-enrichment and insensitive
judges misapplying the laws at the expense of women in divorce. Her
book followed a report she wrote on the same subject, as policy analyst
for the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. Her work
galvanized the first ever consumer reforms to protect legal consumers
against predatory divorce attorney practices. She has appeared
extensively in the media including CNN, Court TV, Inside Edition, The
Today Show, the Brian Lehrer, Joan Hamburg Shows. Winner has worked as
an investigative journalist in New York. She started out as a musician
(guitarist)/performer/songwriter in the Chicago area.