Karen Waters Shields
On the New York attorney register since 1999 · office in New Orleans, LA
PlainAttorney’s reading of the public register file, not a court record.
- Registration No.
- 2958775
- Admitted
- 1999 · First Department
- Status
- Currently registered
- Next registration
- Sep 2027
Karen Waters Shields is currently registered on the New York attorney register file of Sep 29, 2026. Admitted in 1999 in the First Department, with an office in New Orleans, LA; next registration due Sep 2027. The status is the same in all 3 files we hold.
What this status means on the register
On the register, “Currently registered” means Karen Waters Shields has filed the biennial registration the court system requires; the next one is due in Sep 2027.
- Currently registered unchanged
- Currently registered unchanged
- Currently registered the first file we hold
Source: NY Office of Court Administration, attorney registration file (data.ny.gov, dataset eqw2-r5nb), downloaded Sep 29, 2026; the Jul 3, 2026 and Aug 6, 2026 files for the history.
Others who list this employer on the register
3 other attorneys list Kean Miller LLP or one of its other names as their employer on the register; 0 of them were admitted before 1999, and 2 of the 4 give an office in New Orleans, LA. The 3 whose admission is closest to 1999, earliest first:
| Attorney | Admitted | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Adrien Gingles Busekist | 2005 | Currently registered |
| Tobey Blanton Forney | 2005 | Currently registered |
| Jessica Clare Engler | 2022 | Due to re‑register |
Source: NY Office of Court Administration, attorney registration file (data.ny.gov, dataset eqw2-r5nb), downloaded Sep 29, 2026; employer spellings merged (methodology).
Where this record sits on the register
Karen Waters Shields studied at Tulane University Law School (the register spells it “TULANE LAW SCHOOL”). 449 of its 2,194 living graduates on the register were admitted in the 1990s, as Karen Waters Shields was.
- Same law school
- 2,194living graduates; 87.7% registered (current or due), against 87.1% overall
- Office in New Orleans, LA
- 260living registrants (outside New York State)
Of the 260 living registrants with an office in New Orleans, LA, 52 were admitted before 1999 and 202 after.
Source: NY Office of Court Administration, attorney registration file (data.ny.gov, dataset eqw2-r5nb), downloaded Sep 29, 2026; living registrants only.
Questions this record leads to
- Tulane University Law School graduates on the register2,194 living, 87.7% registered.
- New York-admitted attorneys in New Orleans, LA260 living registrants give an office there.
- Admitted in 19997,628 people admitted in 1999 are on the register, 2,742 of them through the First Department.
- Every registration that reads “Currently registered”286,911 on the register file of Sep 29, 2026, by decade of admission.
- What a New York lawyer may chargeThe court rules on fees, retainers and fee disputes, each cited.
How to confirm it officially
For a statement of Karen Waters Shields’s standing, contact the Attorney Registration Unit of the NY Office of Court Administration (nycourts.gov/attorneys), or ask the Appellate Division, First Department, which admitted Karen Waters Shields in 1999. The register places the office outside New York, so a complaint would go to that department’s grievance committee (22 NYCRR 1240.7(a)(2)).
This page reads the register file of Sep 29, 2026, and the court system’s own search can be newer; the register shows only the current value, so a suspension that ended before the files we hold, or a censure, leaves no trace here (Appellate Division decisions are published through the court system’s Law Reporting Bureau).