Karen Oakes, the founder of Oakes Law Office, PC received her Juris Doctor in 1998 after which she moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon. She began private practice in 2001 when she opened her firm as a general practice law office. From 2001 through 2004, the firm mostly focused on family law, estate planning, and representing tenants in landlord-tenant matters. In 2004, however, the firm began to evolve into consumer protection, providing bankruptcy services, FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices ACT) representation, and FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) representation.

Ms. Oakes estimates that since 2004 she has helped clients discharge millions of dollars in debt through bankruptcy. She has also written checks totaling over $100,000 to clients as damage payments by creditors. Overall, she has handled thousands of cases in her practice areas.

In 2004, Ms. Oakes was elected to the bench as Justice of Peace for Klamath County. She was re-elected in 2010 and 2016 for an additional six-year term.