Kara Fischer

Kara L. Fischer is a Washington, D.C., attorney and a member of Holland & Knight's Public Policy & Regulation Group. Ms. Fischer focuses her practice on advising organizations as they navigate high-stakes policy and regulatory issues at the intersection of transportation, innovation and emerging technology.

With more than 15 years of experience supporting Cabinet officials, U.S. senators and agency leadership, Ms. Fischer brings deep experience building bipartisan coalitions, managing public-private partnerships and advancing enterprise-level initiatives. Her background spans legislative strategy, regulatory engagement, investigations and litigation, as well as crisis and risk management for complex operational environments.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Fischer served as deputy chief of staff and principal deputy assistant secretary for governmental affairs to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary, overseeing policy and operations of the department and managing relationships with the U.S. Congress, White House, state and local officials, and industry stakeholders.

Previously, Ms. Fischer held senior roles on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where she worked with members of Congress and industry stakeholders to negotiate and pass major economic and innovation investment legislation, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and COVID-19 relief bills. She also served as a senior trial attorney and policy advisor at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), handling high-profile litigation, investigations and regulatory initiatives.

In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Fischer served as an adjunct professor at the American University, Washington College of Law, where she taught a course on pretrial litigation.