About Karen Ladis

Ms. Ladis joined the agency in 1991 and became its executive director in 2014 after serving as pro bono coordinator for 23 years advocating for greater access to justice for those in need. Upon graduation from University of Miami Law School, Ms. Ladis worked in private practice and became involved in the Dade County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section.

She served on the Bulletin Committee, eventually becoming Editor, and has remained an active member ever since. Ladis has participated in the Florida Pro Bono Coordinators Association, The Florida Bar Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, Florida Civil Legal Aid Association, Eleventh Judicial Circuit Professionalism Committee, and pro bono committees of MDFAWL, SMKB Association, Mission United, and the US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida. She served on the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono, the Public Service Committee of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Attorneys Division and Young Leadership Council, and most recently, on The Florida Bar Board of Governors as a liaison. In 1998, Ladis received The Florida Bar YLD Pro Bono Public Service Award, in 2006, she received the DCBA inaugural Robert L. Shevin Public Service Award, and in 2012, she received the inaugural Eleventh Judicial Circuit Family Division Above & Beyond Award, and was awarded it again in 2015. In 2017, she received the DCBA Lifetime Achievement Award and from 2018 – 2022 was recognized as a Legal Elite Government & Non-Profit Attorney.

In 2019, she was awarded the Women of Distinction Award, the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Program’s Outstanding GAL Award for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and the University of Miami Law Alumni Association Henry Latimer Leadership & Professionalism Award. In October 2021, she received the Miami Dade Bar Johnnie Ridgely President’s Award.