Professional Activities
Member, State Bar of Arizona
Member, Ballard Spahr's Diversity and Inclusion Council
Recognition & Accomplishments
Chambers USA, corporate/M&A law, highest ranking (band one), 2003-2020
The Legal 500 US, mergers and acquisitions – middle-market (sub-$500m), 2012-2020
The Best Lawyers in America, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law, securities regulation, and securities/capital markets law, 2003-2021; international mergers and acquisitions, 2018-2021; "Lawyer of the Year," Corporate Law (Phoenix), 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2021, Mergers and Acquisitions Law (Phoenix), 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, and Securities/Capital Markets Law (Phoenix), 2019
Named "Highly Regarded—Arizona" by IFLR 1000 for Private Equity and M&A, 2019, 2020
Recognized in AzBusiness Leaders magazine under Mergers and Acquisitions, 2019
Named to the Top 100 Lawyers, Arizona Business magazine, March-April 2015
Named a "Southwest Super Lawyer" for excellence in Mergers and Acquisitions, 2007-2017
Chambers USA: Women in Law Awards 2013, Finalist, Corporate/M&A Lawyer of the Year
Business Journal of Phoenix, 2013 Dynamic Women in Business Award recipient
Business Journal of Phoenix, frequent recipient, "Best of the Bar" designation, securities/M&A law
Phoenix Magazine, frequent recipient, "Best Lawyers in Arizona" designation, corporate, M&A, and securities law
Lawdragon, listed among "500 Leading Dealmakers in America"
Profiled by Law360 in its July 17, 2013, edition, in an article titled "Rainmaker Q&A: Ballard Spahr's Karen McConnell."
Community Activities
Court Appointed Special Advocate for Foster Children
Board Memberships
Member of the Board of Trustees, Chair of the Board Development Committee, Member of the Finance and Investment Committee and the Audit Committee, Barrow Neurological Foundation