Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci LLP Member Karen Rich, Esq., has been selected by ALM as an Honoree of the 2024 Florida Legal Awards under the category of “ESG Impact”.

The “ESG Impact” category honors law firms and individuals who demonstrate social responsibility through client-focused efforts, pro bono work, charitable drives, special projects, or other avenues.

Ms. Rich is passionate about her belief in social responsibility through numerous outlets. This commitment to giving back to the community is one of the cornerstones of SGRV’s mission. Intrinsic to SGRV is the client-focused volunteer work the firm has performed to benefit elder care residents and the nursing homes it represents. Over the years, SGRV LLP employees, led by Ms. Rich, have donated hundreds of items to local nursing home residents. The firm has also served as a liaison between teen volunteers and nursing home clients to facilitate donations of clothing and other dry goods geared toward improving the lives and well-being of nursing home residents.

The Ali Spears Foundation is one of many organizations that have benefitted from the charitable work of SGRV LLP. Under the guidance of Ms. Rich, who serves on the foundation’s board of directors, the firm has supported this local pediatric cancer foundation at their annual charity golf tournament as a hole sponsor since the tournament’s inception.

SGRV LLP’s charitable impact extends far beyond the Tampa Bay region and has recently reached orphans and vulnerable children in Kazakhstan who benefited from a local clothing drive for which the firm’s Florida office served as a hub for donations.

In December, the firm organized a donation drive benefiting local nursing home residents. With our continued efforts throughout the year, SGRV has made a positive impact on populations who need our help the most.

SGRV LLP keeps a pulse on the needs of members of the Tampa Bay community facing hardships. When preparing for a donation drive benefiting our nursing home clients, SGRV reached out to our clients to inquire about the items that would best serve the nursing home patients and quickly learned that the needs of the patients were not only different from what we expected but also varied from location to location. Based on the information that we received, we pivoted from our initial action plan so that we could collect items that would be most beneficial to the most vulnerable. For example, the firm would never have expected that fanny packs were needed for nursing home residents; and now, since we asked, over 100 local nursing home were gifted fanny packs on Christmas morning, allowing them to carry small personal belongings when they ambulate with assistive devices such as walkers and wheelchairs. Other nursing home residents in different demographic areas preferred clothing items, lotions, and room décor. By inquiring and listening, SGRV was able to achieve the goal of the donation drive: providing items to nursing home residents that they want and need. Furthermore, by incentivizing volunteerism through paid time-off, we support annual buy-in and advance a collegial experience.

As a former criminal prosecutor, Karen Rich’s extensive trial experience has enabled her to achieve successful results for her clients in her Civil Practice in which she has focused in the areas of Health Care Law and Employment law for over two decades.

In the area of Health Care Law, Ms. Rich passionately defends Long Term Care facilities and Assisted Living Facilities in complex legal matters such as professional negligence, wrongful death, and violation of resident’s rights from pre-suit through arbitration and/or jury trial. Her clients appreciate her vast knowledge of the medical and nursing issues that are common to nursing home and assisted living facility residents and her ability to promptly evaluate claims, fashion defenses and mitigate damages. Ms. Rich has been particularly successful in shielding her clients from financial worth discovery by aggressively defending Motions for Leave to Amend to Add a Claim for Punitive Damages and zealously challenging expert opinions proffered by the Plaintiff. Ms. Rich passionately defends clients with personal jurisdictional defenses to prevent them from being sued in an improper venue.

In the area of employment law, Ms. Rich routinely defends claims discrimination (based on race, national origin, gender, disability, and age), retaliation, sexual harassment, and unpaid overtime charges before the Florida Department of Human Relations, EEOC, Department of Labor and in various State and Federal Courts. Her detailed and persuasive Position Statements have resulted in the dismissal of dozens of Charges of Discrimination and Ms. Rich has achieved successful results in numerous arbitration proceedings as well as defense verdict issued by a jury in a Whistle Blower lawsuit. She also represents employers in union grievances through mediation and arbitration.

Through the Insurance practice, Ms. Rich defends claims of professional negligence, legal malpractice as well as personal injury in slip and fall and negligent security/supervision matters.

As a former prosecutor for the Office of the State Attorney in both the 13th Judicial Circuit and the 10th Judicial Circuit, Ms. Rich has extensive trial and courtroom experience in juvenile, misdemeanor, and felony divisions.