KAREN L. MAISANO

Karen L. Maisano is a Partner at Nikolaus & Hohenadel, LLP. Her areas of practice encompass Family Law matters including custody, divorce, support, and Protection from Abuse, other ancillary matters and Criminal Law. She is also skilled in civil litigation as well. Prior to joining Nikolaus & Hohenadel, LLP, she was a Judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County presiding over Family Law cases.

Before Karen was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas, she started her legal career in the public defender’s office, then she spent the next 17 years as an Assistant District Attorney in Lancaster County. Her area of expertise was cases of child abuse and sexual assault. She has spent her career assisting individuals and families and protecting the children of Lancaster County. She is highly trained in interviewing children, and is trained in identifying coaching and tainting of children’s statements and testimony. She is also trained in trauma-informed based practices and has dealt with many cases involving substance abuse and mental health issues. She continues to educate herself on these subject matters to continue to help her clients in the best way possible.

She is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Education. She received her Juris Doctor from the Dickinson School of Law. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Lancaster Bar Association.
Karen’s many years of courtroom experience has allowed her to gain the respect from her colleagues and members of the bench. She is known as being tough, but fair.

She resides in Lancaster Township with her husband, step-sons, and her two Yorkies, Justice and Mickey.