Katherine M. Sharkey practiced law in Chicago from 2006-2010 at Cabrini Green Legal Aid as a Family Law Staff Attorney, where she represented hundreds of low-income clients in divorce, child custody, guardianship and parenting time cases. She moved back to her home state of Michigan and worked at Legal Services of South Central Michigan- Family Law Project from 2011-2013, representing survivors of domestic violence in personal protection and family law cases. In October 2013, she went into private practice as an associate with the Ann Arbor firm Nichols Sacks Slank Sendelbach Buiteweg & Solomon, where she practiced until August 2019.
The focus of her practice continues to be family law: she is a litigator and mediator. She also serves as a guardian ad litem and parenting coordinator in contentious custody cases. Prior to law school, Katherine worked as a child welfare caseworker in Chicago. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the Honors Program at Marquette University where she double majored in Social Work and Spanish Language and Literature. She graduated in 2006 from the University of Detroit-Mercy Law School, where she was active in moot court and legal clinics and was a teacher’s assistant for the first-year legal research and writing class.
As a parenting coordinator and guardian ad litem, Katherine utilizes her social work background to help parents reach agreements in the best interests of their children. When parents are not able to agree, Katherine’s social work skills guide her interviews with children and recommendations to the Court.
As a litigator, Katherine is a strong and pragmatic advocate. She works hard to achieve fair results for her clients both in and out of the courtroom.
