New York, NY, Wednesday, December 10, 2025 – The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) is proud to announce that its nominee and member, Kareen V. Zeitounzian, has been awarded the New York State Bar Association’s (NYSBA) 2026 Kay Crawford Murray Memorial Award. This distinguished honor recognizes women attorneys with exemplary legal careers or rising stars who champion diversity and mentorship in the legal profession.
Kareen, a member of WBASNY’s Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA) Chapter, serves as Senior Counsel at Harris Beach Murtha Cullina PLLC, where she has excelled for 19 years as a business and commercial litigator representing individuals, corporations, nonprofits, and human service agencies. Her leadership extends beyond the courtroom as she co-chairs the firm’s Attorney Training Committee, where she oversees associate mentoring and organizes programs that promote attorney development and inclusion. She is also active in HBM Women Connect, supporting women attorneys and those pursuing nontraditional career paths.
Kareen is deeply committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has served on GRAWA’s Board of Directors and co-chaired its Diversity Committee. In this leadership role, she spearheaded initiatives such as developing DEI guidelines and organizing community engagement events for Pride, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Disability Awareness Month, among others. Her dedication is informed by her unique perspective as an attorney of Armenian heritage, born in Athens, Greece, and living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II.
Her contributions have earned numerous accolades, including the Rochester Business Journal Impact and Inclusion Award (2025), GRAWA’s Ally Windsor Howell Champion of Diversity Award (2024), and Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow Award (2015, 2023). She is also a published contributor to legal scholarship and an active leader in organizations such as Rotary International (Fairport, NY Chapter) and Neuromuscular Disability United, Inc.
Kareen earned her Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo School of Law, where she received the Faculty Award and served as Associate Editor of the Human Rights Law Review. Her career exemplifies excellence, resilience, and a steadfast commitment to mentorship and inclusion.
WBASNY congratulates Kareen Zeitounzian on this well-deserved recognition. Past recent WBASNY nominee recipients for the Kay Crawford Murray Memorial Award include U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross (2025); Past President of GRAWA, Josie Sheppard Wilson, Esq. (2024); and Hon. Lisa Sokoloff (2021).
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The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) is the professional membership organization of choice for more than 4,100 attorneys throughout New York State and the largest statewide women’s bar association in the country. For 45 years, WBASNY has been a singularly important resource for women lawyers, providing professional networking, continuing legal education programming, leadership training, and advocacy for the rights of women, children, and families. Through involvement with WBASNY’s 20 regional chapters and its 50 committees, WBASNY’s members collaborate with one another on a variety of issues and perform public and community service, in furtherance of its mission to promote the advancement of the status of women in society and women in the legal profession; to promote the fair and equal administration of justice; and to act as a unified voice for its members with respect to issues of statewide, national and international significance to women generally and women attorneys in particular. WBASNY holds United Nations NGO status with the U.N.’s Department of Public Information, and Special Consultative status in association with the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). WBASNY is also a founding member of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations.