Karissa Smith is an Associate at Mullen Coughlin and practices in the Incident Response practice group, representing organizations in investigating and responding to data privacy and security incidents.

Karissa works closely with the organization, cyber insurance carrier (if applicable), forensic investigators, law enforcement and other third-parties to ensure that the incident is fully investigated, and that the organization has minimum day-to-day interruptions.

After, and often in conjunction with, the investigation, Karissa counsels victim organizations on their legal obligations according to state, federal and international law, as well as any contractual obligations the organization may have.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Smith was a M&A Tax Associate at a well-respected “Big Four” accounting firm in Philadelphia, PA. There she researched about various tax issues related to corporate M&A and assisted clients in determining and evaluating the tax implications of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and reorganizations.

As a former law clerk, Karissa has experience researching substantive and procedural legal issues in the field of personal injury, medical malpractice, workers’ compensation, real estate and commercial matters. She also has previously drafted legal memos to insurance carriers, as well as responded to various inquiries on document requests, deposition summaries and discovery.

Karissa graduated magna cum laude from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law where she was a Staff Editor of the Temple Law Review. She also graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

While earning her undergraduate degrees, Karissa was a member of the NCAA Division I women’s soccer team and served as the Women’s Soccer Community Service Coordinator.

PUBLICATIONS

• “Law Firms’ Preferences and Willingness to Pay For Attributes of Law School Graduates: Results From a Choice Experiment,” Education Economics, March 26, 2021