Karen Harrold qualified as a Solicitor in private practice in Hampshire before joining the Crown Prosecution Service from its inception in 1986 rising to Chief Crown Prosecutor for Wiltshire in 2004. As an experienced advocate with higher court rights, she advised the Attorney General for 4 years on a wide range of criminal/civil law and policy issues including human rights, contempt and development of new legislation. In 2010, Karen was privileged to act as the legal adviser to the Hillsborough Independent Panel before returning to CPS to advise the Director of Public Prosecutions on the most serious criminal cases as well as high interest projects. She is now Head of the Appeals & Review Unit providing a high quality specialist service for all CPS cases in the three most senior appellate courts in England and Wales – the Court of Appeal, the Administrative Court and the Supreme Court.

Karen became an Assistant Coroner in Hampshire in 2010 and West Sussex in 2016. She has handled the full range of coronial cases including medical negligence inquests, some of which have raised infection control issues and often involve instructing experts. Karen has been the Judicial Review and Case Law Secretary for the CSEW since 2013.