Karen R. Harned
Executive Director
Ms. Harned has over 33 years of legal, regulatory, legislative, and communications experience defending the freedoms afforded to all Americans by the U.S. Constitution. Prior to joining Citizens for Legal Reform, Harned served for over twenty years as the Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center. In that role, Harned was a leader in fighting abuses in America’s civil justice system to protect against efforts to weaponize state and federal tort laws against small and independent businesses.
Ms. Harned is a recognized expert on matters relating to America’s civil justice system, regulation, and administrative law. She has testified numerous times before the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, including testimony she provided to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in support of the nomination of then Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ms. Harned has commented on regulatory and civil justice issues, as well as cases before federal and state courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, NBC Nightly News, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and CBS Radio. Her opinion editorials and articles regarding regulation, healthcare, and lawsuit abuse have been published in newspapers and other publications nationwide.
Upon moving to Washington, D.C., Ms. Harned served as Assistant Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma. She received her B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and her J.D. from The George Washington University National Law Center. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.
Board of Directors
Adam White
President
Adam White is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on American constitutionalism, the Supreme Court, and the...
Peter J. Wallison
Treasurer
Peter J. Wallison is a senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies constitutional law and the growth of...
James R. Copland
Secretary
James R. Copland is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and director of Legal Policy. In those roles, he develops and communicates novel...