Karen Shatzkin graduated from the American School of Paris, France, in 1968, and from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1972 (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). She is a graduate of Columbia Law School (Class of 1977), where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and received the Archie O. Dawson Prize for proficiency in advocacy.

After law school, Ms. Shatzkin served as law clerk to United States District Judge Honorable Charles M. Metzner in the Southern District of New York. Following her clerkship, Ms. Shatzkin held positions with the City of New York, including Deputy Director of Juvenile Justice in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice and Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Commercial Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department. Ms. Shatzkin has had her own private practice since 1983.

Fluent in French, Ms. Shatzkin has represented numerous clients from France and Belgium, as well as U.S. clients in their contractual dealings with French parties. She also has extensive experience acting on either side of matters involving residents and companies based in England (where she has had a second home for many years) and other European countries.

Ms. Shatzkin has overseen the firm's provision of legal counsel for numerous documentary films and television productions. A partial list of projects on which she has worked appears at imdb.com.

She created a day-long seminar on legal fundamentals for documentary artists and has served on panels for both filmmakers and media attorneys on challenges faced by documentary filmmakers.

Ms. Shatzkin is a member of the adjunct faculty of Columbia Law School. She co-taught the Profession of Law course (which focused particularly on the integration of ethical standards in the practice of law) and annually teaches a seminar in trial practice for third-year law students.

Ms. Shatzkin served for six years on the board of directors of the environmental organization Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc.