From 2000 to 2004, Karen Bourgeois worked at the Missouri Public Defender’s office where she would provide post-conviction counsel for inmates filing for post-plea and post-trial relief. There, she drafted post-conviction motions to vacate and conducted evidentiary hearings on the motions. She researched, drafted, and filed appeals after denial of post-conviction motions.

She then went into private practice, where she contested municipal violations, misdemeanors, and non-violent felonies. In addition to her criminal law work, she also handled divorce cases and family law matters.