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Karen King Mitchell
Karen King Mitchell
Staff Report//June 15, 2026//
Judge, Missouri Court of Appeals Western District
Columbia
Judge Karen Mitchell began her legal career in the mid-1980s, an era when professional paths for young lawyers were largely fixed by convention — rules she has observed erode over four decades. As chief deputy attorney general of Missouri, she managed an office of more than 200 lawyers while voluntarily carrying her own caseload, a practice she credits with giving her insight into the challenges her attorneys faced and greater credibility as a leader.
During that same period, she argued a case before the United States Supreme Court, structuring her days around early-morning library sessions at the Missouri Supreme Court to prepare without sacrificing her duties or family time.
She now serves on the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District, traveling weekly from Columbia to Kansas City as an official station judge. She advises young attorneys that reputation in Missouri’s small legal community develops faster than they expect and said, “Each step you take naturally leads you to the next opportunity.”
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