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Karen Rigberg

Karen Rigberg

Of Counsel

Pacific Gateway
19191 South Vermont Avenue
Suite 900
Torrance, CA 90502
karen.rigberg@nelsonmullins.com

Karen Rigberg is a trusted advisor to companies of all sizes and manages legal risk as they conduct their daily business activities, plan strategic business initiatives, and implement antitrust and other compliance safeguards.

Karen Rigberg is a trusted advisor to companies of all sizes and manages legal risk as they conduct their daily business activities, plan strategic business initiatives, and implement antitrust and other compliance safeguards.

Karen Rigberg

Karen Rigberg is a trusted advisor to companies of all sizes and manages legal risk as they conduct their daily business activities, plan strategic business initiatives, and implement antitrust and other compliance safeguards.

Experience

The following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

Representative Matters

Automotive Experience

Karen spent nearly 20 years at Toyota Motor North America, during which time she was able to wear many hats, all of which involved working with business teams to craft internal policies, procedures, agreements, and trainings designed to minimize legal risk. During her tenure, Karen’s work included advising business teams on the following legal issues and activities: 

  • Antitrust
  • Warranty/Lemon Law
  • Franchise Law
  • Warranty Reimbursement
  • Customer Support Programs
  • Accessory Development, Marketing Covenants
  • Rental Programs 
  • Pricing
  • Pre-Owned Vehicle Programs
  • Prototype Vehicles 
  • Fleet Management 
  • Distribution Logistics 
  • Damage Tracking 
  • Dealer Sales and Service Processes / Incentives 
  • Alternative Fuel Vehicle Programs, Supportive Infrastructure

Antitrust Compliance Counseling

Karen was Toyota’s sole in-house antitrust counsel for many years. While there, she 

  • Oversaw Toyota’s North American antitrust compliance
  • Designed and implemented antitrust compliance initiatives, policies, procedures, and trainings 
  • Interacted with federal and state regulatory agencies, managed CID’s, third-party claims, subpoenas, and litigation

Since leaving Toyota, antitrust compliance remains Karen’s passion and core practice area. Having been in this role for virtually her entire legal career. Karen’s current practice involves advising companies, including automotive, food, and consumer products clients on a variety of antitrust issues, including:

  • Sales Channel Management
  • Supply Chain and Supplier Relations
  • Working In Competitor Joint Ventures And Collaborations
  • No-Poach Issues, HR Benchmarking 
  • Information Sharing
  • Pricing Programs, Rebates, Sales Channels 
  • Dual Distribution Complexities
  • Trade Associations and Other Industry Workgroups 
  • ESG Initiatives 
  • Marketing Covenants, MAP Programs, UPP Programs

Antitrust Compliance Program Packages

Karen understands the obstacles companies may face when trying to implement an effective antitrust compliance program, especially one which strives to meet DOJ’s published guidance. Karen offers the following packaged or a la carte services to support companies who may want to quickly implement meaningful changes to their antitrust compliance programs:

  • GAP Analyses
  • Employee Surveys
  • Written Policies And Procedures
  • Resource Documents And Internal Company Webpages
  • Tailored eTrainings 
  • Governance
  • Monitoring
  • Assessments and Knowledge Checks

Karen creates and also maintains a growing library of customizable interactive antitrust micro-learning modules which can be quickly delivered to specific employees, workgroups, or project teams.

Other Compliance Initiatives

Using the above program elements, Karen has helped companies launch or enhance their non-antitrust compliance programs, including those relating to privacy, consumer protection, marketing disclosures, using and lending company-owned vehicles, warranty/lemon law, litigation holds, damage disclosure, and fleet management.

Previous Professional Experience

  • Counsel, multi-national regulatory, litigation, and transactional firm (2017-2023)
  • Managing Counsel, Toyota Motor North America (1998-2017)
  • Associate Attorney, nationwide product liability firm (1995-1998)

Education

  • University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law, JD (1994)
  • University of Pennsylvania, BA (1990)

Admissions

  • California

Practice Areas

Industries