Judge Karen Klein has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of North Dakota since 1985 and in 2005 she was named Chief Magistrate Judge of the district.  Her primary duties involve civil case management, mediation, civil trials and preliminary criminal proceedings.  Judge Klein has served on the Board of the Federal Judicial Center and as Chair of the Federal Judicial Center Advisory Committee on Magistrate Judge Education. She has taught programs on ethics, mediation, and faculty development for judges and lawyers in the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe. Judge Klein currently serves on the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on Information and Technology and is a former member of the Conference's Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System. She is a past President of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association.