(Jan. 16, 2026) — Harris Beach Murtha attorney Kareen V. Zeitounzian received the 2026 Kay Crawford Murray Memorial Award from the New York State Bar Association’s Women in Law Section as part of the Association’s Annual Meeting on Jan. 15, 2026.
The annual award honors a woman with a distinguished legal career or a rising star in the profession who recognizes the value of diversity in the legal profession and has dedicated her time to advancing the professional development and mentoring of women attorneys.
Kareen is a member of Harris Beach Murtha’s Business Litigation Practice Group and co-chairs the firm’s Attorney Training Committee, where she develops onboarding programs and leads the firm’s Mentorship Program to support attorney growth and retention. She also participates in the firm’s Women Connect initiative, helping create opportunities for women and attorneys with nontraditional career paths. Born in Athens, Greece, of Armenian heritage and living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II, Kareen brings a perspective shaped by diverse cultural and personal experiences.
“To receive an award in memory of the extraordinary Kay Crawford Murray, and to join the ranks of the remarkable women leaders who have been honored before me, is profoundly humbling,” Kareen said, upon accepting the award. “Although I did not have the opportunity to meet Kay Crawford Murray, her legacy is unmistakable. Her work reflected a deep understanding that progress is built deliberately through relationships, mentorship and the willingness to make room for others. She understood that none of us moves forward alone, and that the measure of a legal career is not only the cases we win, but the doors we open and the voices we lift.”
Kareen’s commitment to service extends beyond the firm. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA) Chapter and co-chaired its Diversity Committee, contributing to programs that advance equity and volunteerism. In the community, she has held leadership roles, including president and director with Rotary International (Fairport, NY Chapter) and director with Neuromuscular Disability United, Inc., while remaining active in organizations such as Rochester Accessible Adventures.
Her work has been recognized with honors such as the Rochester Business Journal Impact and Inclusion Award (2025), GRAWA’s Champion of Diversity Award (2024) and the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow Award (2015, 2023). Kareen is also a published contributor to legal scholarship, with works appearing in the New York State Bar Association Journal and the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Rights.
About Harris Beach Murtha
Harris Beach Murtha formed in 2025 via the combination of Harris Beach PLLC and Murtha Cullina LLP. A forward-thinking and innovative partnership with the benefit of more than 250 years of combined history, Harris Beach Murtha’s New York roots reach back to 1856 and the firm has had ties to New England since 1936. Harris Beach and Murtha Cullina were separately among the country’s top law firms as ranked by The National Law Journal.
Harris Beach Murtha and its subsidiaries have a strong Northeast presence, with a global reach, and represent clients locally, regionally and nationally. Clients include Fortune 100 corporations, privately held companies, emerging businesses, public sector entities, tax-exempt organizations and individuals. The firm’s practice areas and industries served span appellate law, business litigation, cannabis, commercial real estate, construction, corporate, environmental, energy, financial institutions, financial restructuring, government compliance and investigations, health care, immigration, intellectual property, labor and employment, mass torts, medical and life sciences, political law, product liability, public finance, tax, and trusts and estates.
Harris Beach Murtha is the exclusive member firm in Connecticut for Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent firms with in-depth experience in more than 125 countries worldwide. As part of the Lex Mundi global network, Harris Beach Murtha can provide clients with preferred access to more than 22,000 lawyers around the world – all from a single point of contact. Lex Mundi allows Harris Beach Murtha to seamlessly handle clients’ most challenging cross-border transactions and disputes.
The firm’s lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout Connecticut in Bantam, Hartford, New Haven and Stamford; New York state in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, Niagara Falls, New York City, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Long Island and White Plains, as well as in Boston, Massachusetts and Newark, New Jersey. For more information, visit www.harrisbeachmurtha.com.
