Karen L. Middlekauff concentrates her practice on marital and family law matters, as a mediator and an attorney.
Mediation Practice
Karen is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and devotes a majority of her professional time to mediation. Karen believes firmly in the mediation process as one of the most effective ways to resolve family law disputes in a private, confidential, and out-of-court fashion. Karen mediates cases for attorneys and clients all across the State of Florida and offers both virtual and in-person mediation.
Please use this link to view and schedule mediation dates.
Attorney Practice
As an attorney, Karen handles a variety of family law issues including dissolution of marriage, alimony, asset and liability distribution, attorneys’ fees actions, establishment of paternity, child support, child custody, visitation, modification and enforcement of alimony and child support, and time-sharing arrangements. Karen additionally handles prenuptial agreements.
Karen has extensive experience in large-scale marital and family law litigation. However, Karen recognizes that every case is different, and as a result, offers a wide array of options for how to proceed each individual matter, ranging from traditional litigation, mediation and private negotiation, and by utilizing the collaborative process.
Collaborative Divorce is a peaceful, private, respectful process to resolve divorce which helps families create their own destiny. The Collaborative Divorce Process meets the financial, emotional, social and other needs of divorcing families. Clients who choose Collaborative Divorce engage a professional team that includes:
A lawyer for each spouse
A neutral financial expert
A neutral mental health facilitator
The participants follow a protocol to develop resolution options to work collaboratively towards the dissolution of marriage, as opposed to the traditional adversarial process.
Karen is devoted particularly to the use and expansion of the collaborative process and has achieved her accreditation by the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals as an Accredited Collaborative Practitioner. This accreditation recognizes those who have met the Standards set forth by the Florida Academy of Collaborative Professionals. Those Standards require significant training beyond the Introductory Collaborative training, multi-case experience and an adherence to FACP Ethical Standards.
Educational & Professional Background
Karen graduated cum laude from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. She graduated cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Delaware. In law school she competed on the University of Florida Trial Team and worked in the Criminal Defense Clinic of the Public Defenders’ offices in Alachua and Orange counties. Karen is a member of the Florida Bar and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida.
Community & Professional Involvement
Karen proudly serves as the Secretary of the board of directors for the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida. Karen also is a board member of the Florida Association of Collaborative Professionals and the Collaborative Family Law Group of Central Florida, serving on its membership committee.
Karen is a native of the great state of Pennsylvania. In her spare time she enjoys pilates, baking, and cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins.
