WLVC Member Spotlight: Karen Oakman
Meet Karen Oakman, Owner and Attorney at Clunen and Oakman Law, based in Thousand Oaks and practicing in Ventura and Los Angeles County Courts.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your legal career.
I attended law school and practiced for years in San Diego before moving to Ventura County. I was an associate at Grimes and Warwick, which was exclusively criminal defense. Once I moved up to Ventura, I learned family law and that is mainly my practice now.
What area of law do you practice, and what drew you to it?
I loved criminal defense, but in Ventura I had more opportunities in Family Law. Unfortunately for society and fortunately for me, criminal defense and family law have a lot in common and I enjoy working with clients and helping them.
What inspired you to pursue a career in law?
Initially in college I wanted to be a prosecutor. I was a Criminal Justice major and felt that I could do a lot of good in the world. Then in law school I had one of my first internships at the Public Defender’s Office in “Profile Homicide.” I fell in love with helping people and I believe I could help more as a defense attorney than a prosecutor.
What do you find most rewarding about your role?
I like helping people. My role allows me different ways to help people. Below are the ways I can help that are not even doing my “job.”
During law school I volunteered at a legal clinic and liked having the ability to change someone’s life with some legal advice. Since 2017 I have been the legal director of the Conejo Free Clinic located in Thousand Oaks, CA.
In addition to the clinic, I have been on numerous Boards which help do good work in the community. I am currently on the Women Lawyers of Ventura County (past president), Ventura County Family Law Board, Ventura Unity Bar (formly Ventura Diversity Bar and past president), PTA Board for my children’s school, and the Conejo Free Clinic Board (past chair).
A new way I have enjoyed helping others is sponsoring as a business owner. I am lucky my business partner, Katie Clunen, enjoys it too. We have had the opportunity to sponsor numerous youth sports, Women Lawyers, PTAs, Conejo Pride, youth band, Camp HOPE, Coalition for Family Harmony, and other great nonprofits.
Have you had any mentors or role models who have influenced your career?
I feel like I have had four main role models who shaped who I am as an attorney, but dozens who have helped me grow as an attorney.
Terry Zimmerman, Brooke LaFrance, and Amber Kirchenschlager are three amazing public defenders in San Diego who I interned with during law school. Each showed me their way of negotiating and standing out as an amazing female attorney. None of them had the same style so I could see what worked for them and that I did not have to be cookie cutter to be a good lawyer. The one thing all three had in common was their passion for helping their clients, all were incredibly brilliant, and all called out misogyny when they saw it.
Tom Warwick was my first boss when I was an attorney. He had been practicing for decades and was well known in the community. He never saw a challenge in a case that was not worth pushing back against. He would send me on tasks that seemed impossible but with some creativity the job could be done. I like to think he taught me to think outside the box when lawyering.
Along with these four attorneys, I have been lucky to watch and learn from amazing coworkers, friends, judges, and just other bar members in court.
What advice would you give to women considering a legal career?
To do it. We need more women in the legal sphere. Women bring a change to the system which is needed. The more women in the career, the more support we can benefit from one another.
What is one misconception about being a lawyer or in the legal profession that you’d like to correct?
That you have to be mean or loud to get your way. I feel like some attorneys feel like they have to put on a show to have their point made.
How do you continue to grow and develop in your career?
Practice. I think they call it the practice of law for a reason.
But practice means doing things that are not just the same moves. For instance, they recommend football players do yoga or dance.
I have found it helpful to work different parts of your brain to up your attorney game. For instance, being a temporary judge makes you a better attorney by showing you the scenario from the other side of the bench. Teaching college or law school class makes you a better attorney as you are taught to teach legal concepts in layman’s terms. Volunteering at a clinic teaches you to find cost effective or free work arounds for your type of law.
What is a piece of advice that inspires you?
Attorneys are in a unique position to change someone’s life with just a few words of advice.
How has the Women Lawyers of Ventura County community supported you in your legal career? What do you appreciate about the WLVC community?
Women Lawyers is a dynamic board of women attorneys in our community. I am always in awe by how much these women can get done and do for our community. Every board member is incredible in how much they do for their community and it is inspiring.
I was the lucky recipient in 2019 of the Holly Spevak Award for my work in the community. It was such an honor and I have enjoyed being able to be a part of the process that honors that work in other award recipients.