Karen Lawrence Puccio joined Degaris|Wright|McCall as a Partner in 2019 and works primarily in the areas of personal injury and mass tort litigation. She began her legal career as an attorney working primarily in mass tort and personal injury law. In just two short years of becoming of an attorney, Karen was tapped as co-lead of the asbestos department for her prior firm, where she helped obtain over $15 million dollars in settlements for clients. She also has had success as a litigator in asbestos cases.
Karen’s proudest moment as an attorney was helping a family whose loved one had been diagnosed with lung cancer from his extensive asbestos exposure in the workplace. She took the case on, despite its difficulty, and ultimately helped the victim recover a settlement.
Karen was born and raised in the small town of Centreville, Alabama. Being raised in a small town instilled a strong sense of community early on to Karen and even years after leaving her small hometown that sense of community is still strong. It shaped Karen’s strong desire from a young age to make a difference in people’s lives.
Karen’s passion for helping people continues to this day and is felt within the Birmingham Community through her volunteer work for the Birmingham Bar’s Volunteer Lawyers Program. This program provides free legal assistance to low-income clients, in desperate need of help, who otherwise would not have access to legal counsel. Karen feels privileged to be able to help these individuals who would otherwise not receive the help they need.
She attended Auburn University where she earned a Bachelor ofArts Degree in Criminology and she went on to attend Birmingham School of Law at night while working full-time as a case manager. She has a strong belief that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
When Karen is not in the office, she enjoys spending time with her family. Her favorite pastimes include running, fishing and entering chili cook-offs. She is also an avid fan of Auburn athletics. A fun fact about Karen is that she is a former Tennessee State Chili Champion and was a participant in the World’s Championship Chili Cookoff.