Professional Background

Karyna Armstrong is a litigation attorney in McDonald Carano’s Las Vegas office. She assists in the representation of clients in judge and jury trials in state and federal courts, as well as appeals before the Nevada Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Karyna serves as a Vice Chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee at McDonald Carano.

Karyna’s broad range of experience at McDonald Carano includes complex commercial disputes involving breach of contract, business torts, unfair competition, fiduciary duty, partnership disputes, and litigation regarding commercial transactions and contract interpretation. Karyna also contributes her legal expertise to provide pro bono services through the Children’s Attorneys Project of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. 

Karyna’s experience in law includes serving as an Extern to the Honorable James C. Mahan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, a law clerk in the Las Vegas office of an international law firm, a law clerk in a cannabis law-focused law firm in Las Vegas, and a summer associate at McDonald Carano.

While attending law school, Karyna served in leadership roles in numerous organizations, including Black Law Students Association Treasurer and Liaison for the Las Vegas National Bar Association, Sports and Entertainment Law Association Secretary, Student Bar Association Executive Secretary and Events Committee member, and Policy and Legislation Society committee member. She also earned a CALI Award (highest grade in class) for Lawyering Process (legal writing), was recognized as the Summer Outstanding Student (Guardianship) in the Community Service Program, and received a State Bar of Nevada Professional Development Fellowship. Karyna was a finalist in the “Making the Law Writing Competition” where she advocated for student athletes to be allowed to be paid for their name, image, and likeness in college athletics – which is now a Nevada law.

While in college, Karyna was a collegiate athlete on the Women’s Track and Field team and competed in the hammer throw. Karyna’s professional background also includes serving as a Substitute Teacher for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas and a Director of Operations Intern for the University of Miami Athletic Department in Coral Gables, Florida.

Awards and Recognition

• Nevada Business Magazine – “Legal Elite/Top Rank Attorneys” (2023)

Professional Affiliations

• Recording Secretary, 2023-2025 Executive Board, Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association.
• Chair, Marketing & Content Coordination Committee, Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association
• Member, Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys

Publications and Presentations

• Panel Presenter, “Breaking Barriers: Insights from Leading Women Attorneys,” organized by the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and ACLU of Nevada, July 27, 2023
• Panel Presenter, “How to Succeed as a Summer Associate/Law Clerk at a Firm,” organized by the Career Development office of the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, April 11, 2023
• Panel Presenter, “Conversations with Black Women in the Law,” organized by the Black Law Students Association and the Organization of Women Law Students at William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, March 30, 2023
• Author, “Students Speak, Lawmakers Listen,” UNLV Law, The Magazine of the William S. Boyd School of Law, pp. 26-27, 2021

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