About Karen Kirchoff
Karen Kirchoff Saminski built her legal foundations in New Jersey. She earned a B.A. in political science from Montclair State University before completing her J.D. at Seton Hall University School of Law. Those academic steps led quickly into practice in the state where she has spent her career.
Her early work was rooted in public service. In 1988 she served as a staff lawyer in the Family Law Unit of Hudson County Legal Services Corporation, representing clients who could not otherwise afford counsel. The following year she entered private practice. Over time she handled a broad range of family law matters that included contested custody and financial disputes.
By 1996 her career took a turn toward the bench. That year she began serving as a judge on the Jersey City Municipal Court. Her time on the bench added courtroom perspective to years of litigation and client representation. It also framed her later roles in committees and in mediation work.
Saminski has remained active in professional organizations that touch on family law and dispute resolution. She has been a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association since 1989 and has served on the Hudson County Bar Association’s Family Law Committee since 1996, including a term as chair from 2005 to 2007. She joined the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in 2011 and continues that membership. Since 2007 she has been an approved mediator in the State of New Jersey Economic Mediation Program, handling the economic aspects of family law cases.
Her civic and committee work extends beyond the courtroom. She served on the board of the Hudson County Legal Services Corporation from 1990 to 1994 and was a member of the District VI Attorney Ethics Committee from 1996 to 1999. From 2009 to 2011 she was on the board of directors for Jersey City Medical Center. She also holds a longstanding role on the Hudson County Matrimonial Early Settlement Committee, a group she joined in 1988.
Today she practices at Saminski Fuller Family Law, where her background as an attorney, former municipal judge, and state-approved economic mediator informs how she approaches family law cases. Her work continues to center on resolving family law disputes through negotiation, mediation, and litigation when necessary.
