The Hon. Karen K. Caldwell

Karen K. Caldwell is a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.  She is also Chair of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.  Judge Caldwell is a former United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Kentucky and prior to her appointment to the federal bench in 2001, she was a partner in the law firm of Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP.  

Before taking the bench, Judge Caldwell served as Chair of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Publication Committee, the editor of Bench & Bar Magazine and a member of the Character and Fitness Committee of the Kentucky Board of Bar Examiners. Judge Caldwell serves as a trustee of Transylvania University.

In 1995, Judge Caldwell received Kentucky's Outstanding Lawyer Award from the Kentucky Bar Association. In 2005, she was awarded an honorary degree from Transylvania University and in 2007, she received the Outstanding Alumnus of Kentucky Award from the Kentucky Counsel on Post Secondary Education and the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education.  In 2010, Judge Caldwell was inducted into the Hall of Fame at University of Kentucky College of Law.