Karen Skinner specializes in legal research as a Senior Law Librarian – Research Services at the USC Gould School of Law. She teaches the Legal Research component of Legal Research, Writing, & Advocacy I and II. She also teaches Legal Research to LLM students. Previously, Skinner was an attorney in the litigation practice group at Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP in Columbus, Ohio. She is a member of the Illinois and Ohio bars.

Skinner received her BA in Criminology and International Studies from The Ohio State University in 1995. She earned a JD from Capital University Law School, in 1999, where she was admitted to the Order of the Curia. She also obtained an MS in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2001 as well as an MS in Library Science from Indiana University at Bloomington in 2009. Additionally, Skinner is a member of the American Association of Law Libraries, the Southern California Association of Law Libraries, and Beta Phi Mu.