Karen VanderMeer

BIOGRAPHY

Karen represents individuals in all aspects of family and matrimonial law, including dispute resolution and litigation. She recognizes that each client has a distinct situation, and uses her years of experience and creative problem solving to advocate for her client’s goals and achieve results. Karen’s practice includes representing clients in complicated and high net worth divorces, visitation disputes, paternity cases, child support, parenting schedules, name changes, guardianships and post-divorce enforcement and modification. As a clerk with the Domestic Relations Division of the Office of the Public Guardian in Cook County, Karen represented the interests of children in domestic relations matters.

Having grown up in the Midwest, Karen returned to Chicago after earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Brandeis University and her law degree from Boston College School of Law. After graduating from law school, Karen practiced domestic relations law at a small firm in Chicago. She then joined Abramovitch Blalock & McKinnon, LLC in 2015 as an associate. Karen’s unique perspective comes from her varied experiences in the family law field.

For two years, Karen worked to established the parental rights for parents having children through gestational surrogacy. As a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge Veronica Mathein, retired, she had an unprecedented opportunity to peek behind the judicial curtain and discuss cases and practices directly with one of Cook County Domestic Relations Divisions’ highly respected Judges. Karen has devoted her time outside of her practice to volunteering with organizations that help victims of domestic violence and their children, CARPLS legal aid hotline, and is a regular Saturday morning volunteer at a Chicago soup kitchen. Karen is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association and is licensed to practice in Massachusetts and Illinois. As a committee member with the Young Lawyers Division of the ISBA, Karen serves on a number of committees and is a regular panelist and moderator with their lunchtime legal education series.

In 2019, and 2020 Karen was selected as a “Rising Star” attorney by Illinois Super Lawyers magazine, an award only given to less than 2.5% of lawyers under 40 years old in Illinois.

EDUCATION

Boston College Law School 
Doctor of Law (J.D.)
2009 – 2012 

Brandeis University
Bachelors of Arts, Philosophy 
2003 – 2007 

PRACTICE AREAS