Karen Powell is an attorney practicing primarily in the areas of Government contracts and international trade.  Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Powell worked in the general counsel's office of a major New England defense contractor and with the Federal Election Commission.  Ms. Powell also served on the private staff of a United States Senator as a legislative assistant for foreign policy matters.  She is a 1989 graduate of Boston College Law School and also attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy from 1984 until 1987.  Ms. Powell received her Bachelor's Degree, with honors, from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Ms. Powell has counseled clients regarding a wide variety of Federal procurements ranging from ship overhauls to medical research projects to computer leases. In addition, she has an extensive background in drafting and negotiating a wide variety of agreements for her clients in the health care and high technology sectors.  A cross-section of her practice in recent years includes:  litigating bid protests and other contract actions at the General Accounting Office, Boards of Contract Appeals, and the United States Court of Federal Claims; advising clients regarding acquisitions and sales of companies with substantial Government business; supervising the creation of buying and subcontracting systems for a $60 million federally funded program; and advising offerors in various health care procurements including CHAMPUS and HHS programs. 

Ms. Powell has authored articles for Contract Management, The Washington Business Journal, and Government Computer News.  She has spoken before gatherings of attorneys and contract management professionals, including the ABA's recent programs on Bid Protests at the Court of Federal Claims, and Federal ADR.  Ms. Powell is active in several legal and bar associations including the ABA, the American Society of International Law and the Prettyman-Leventhal Inn of the American Inns of Court.  She chaired the ABA Dispute Resolution Section's Committee on Government Procurement, from the committee's formation in 1998 until 2002.  She is a founding board member of the Federal Bar Association's ADR Section formed in 2001 and the In-coming Section Chair for 2003-2004.

Ms. Powell's trade practice includes both Commerce and State Department export licensing.  In addition, she has advised clients regarding export compliance issues raised by past as well as proposed transactions.  She was a featured panelist discussing changes to the GATT (now WTO) Government procurement code at the University of Baltimore Law School's 1997 symposium on international commercial law developments.  Together with Joseph Petrillo, she published a follow-up article on the status of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement in Government Computer News in January, 2000.*   Ms. Powell also counsels clients on intellectual property issues including trademark protection and litigation, confidentiality agreements and software licensing.

Ms. Powell practices before all federal agencies, the General Accounting Office, and the Boards of Contract Appeals.  She is admitted to practice before the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC.  Ms. Powell is a member of the bar for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

You can reach Karen D. Powell at:

Petrillo & Powell, P.L.L.C
5335 Wisconsin Avenuet, N.W., Suite 440
Washington, D.C. 20015
202-887-4848
202-478-1656 (fax)

mailto:kdp@petrillopowell.com

* A copy of this article can be viewed by clicking on the links in our publications page.