Karen Scheibe Eliason advises accounts receivables management and financial services companies, healthcare revenue cycle organizations, and creditors on navigating complex regulatory frameworks governing consumer debt servicing, collections, and recovery. With more than 25 years of experience, she focuses her practice on regulatory compliance counseling, government investigations, and litigation involving federal and state consumer protection laws.
Karen works closely with companies operating in highly regulated environments to design and strengthen compliance programs, assess regulatory risk, and respond to evolving federal and state requirements. She regularly counsels clients on matters involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and other consumer financial services laws, as well as regulatory inquiries from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and state attorneys general. Her work often includes advising on compliance program development, internal investigations, regulatory examinations, and remediation strategies.
Prior to joining Frost Echols, Karen served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for national revenue cycle management and debt purchasing organizations serving healthcare providers and other regulated industries. In that role, she led enterprise-wide legal and compliance functions and advised executive leadership and boards on regulatory strategy, consumer protection compliance, operational risk, and a wide range of corporate and operational legal matters. She directed responses to regulatory audits and inquiries from federal and state regulators, oversaw litigation strategy for consumer and regulatory matters, and helped guide the companies through significant growth and multiple acquisitions.
Karen also has substantial litigation experience representing creditors and financial services clients in consumer litigation, bankruptcy disputes, and regulatory enforcement matters, and has litigated cases in federal courts across the country. Earlier in her career, she was a partner in a national law firm based in Washington, D.C., representing creditors, financial institutions, and debt purchasers in complex bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters.
She also previously served in Vice President and Senior Corporate Counsel at the national trade association representing the accounts receivable management industry, where she led a national litigation advocacy program and worked with appellate counsel across the country on cases affecting the industry. She also authored numerous compliance resources and was a frequent speaker on consumer financial services law and regulatory developments.
Having served both as outside counsel and in senior in-house leadership roles, Karen brings a practical perspective to compliance and regulatory challenges. Clients rely on her ability to translate complex legal requirements into workable compliance strategies that align with business operations.
Karen is an active member of ACA International, the Association of Credit, and Collection Professionals and serves as a member of the Judicial Committee.
Bar and Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
- State of Minnesota
Education
- Mitchell Hamline School of Law, J.D.
- Minnesota State University Moorhead, B.A., cum laude
