About Karen Schuller
Karen Schuller Boardman built a legal path that moves from evening classes to law firm leadership. She earned a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998. She returned to school while working and completed her J.D. in the evening program at North Carolina Central University in 2006.
Her first post-law school role came quickly. In 2007 she joined Coats & Bennett, PLLC as a litigation manager. That position introduced her to the operational side of litigation and the workflow inside plaintiff and defense practices. She later worked as a lawyer at Kincaid & Associates, PLLC beginning in 2012 and moved to Sellers, Ayers, Dortch & Lyons, P.A. in 2019, building a practice in private firms over the course of a decade.
In 2022 she became a partner at Ascension Law, taking on broader responsibilities in case management and firm decision-making. The next year she helped launch Alignment Legal as a founding partner. That move placed her among the leadership group shaping a newer practice platform while continuing to handle litigation matters that require hands-on attention.
Boardman is admitted to practice in both Tennessee and North Carolina. She is a current member of the North Carolina State Bar and of the North Carolina Bar Association. Those memberships reflect ongoing involvement in the professional community in the state where most of her work has been centered.
Her background includes both courtroom work and the administrative side of running cases. Early experience as a litigation manager and subsequent roles as an associate and partner gave her exposure to case strategy, discovery practice, and the logistics of moving files through a firm. Colleagues describe her approach as methodical; she prefers clear timelines and consistent client updates.
She handles matters that require detailed preparation and often works on cases where litigation posture and procedural timing matter. Her experience spans different firm settings, from established practices to a start-up firm environment. That range informs how she advises clients and allocates resources on a file.
Based at Alignment Legal, Boardman continues to practice in North Carolina while maintaining her Tennessee licensure. Her current practice centers on litigation and client counseling.
