216.696.8700
Sarah J. Gabinet
Senior Counsel
216.736.7206
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Sarah J. Gabinet

Senior Counsel
216.736.7206
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VCF logo
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OVERVIEW & EXPERIENCE

Over her 40 years in practice – 39 of which have been at KJK, Sarah has earned a reputation as a domestic relations attorney who serves clients compassionately and effectively. After a successful tenure as one of KJK’s Family Law Partners, Sarah has moved into a Senior Counsel role and still in practice with the firm.

Her extensive experience in family law includes a broad range of issues in divorce and dissolution of marriage proceedings including valuing businesses and business interests, dividing retirement assets, determining support and designing and parenting plans. She is also experienced in post-divorce matters such as the modification and enforcement of support and parenting agreements and relocation. Her legal work for same-sex couples includes structuring parental rights agreements and dissolving unions and marriages. She also provides advice and prepares premarital agreements for clients.

Sarah’s approach is to explore whether certain dispute resolution strategies can achieve her clients’ goals through alternatives to litigation, but she also has extensive experience with complex litigation for businesses and families. She has advanced training in interest-based negotiation processes of Cooperative and Collaborative Law and is a qualified divorce mediator.

Sarah graduated from Oberlin College, obtained a Master’s Degree from Indiana University and her law degree from Case Western Reserve University.

Sarah is regarded by her clients as an attorney who is compassionate but also a tough competitor, a characteristic she demonstrated outside her legal work as an ice hockey player for twenty years. She is married with one grown son, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.

Representative Experience
AWARDS & PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Awards

  • Selected to Ohio Super Lawyers, 2005 – 2024
  • Avvo Rated Top Lawyer 2017 – 2023
  • America’s Most Honored Lawyers – Top 1% 2016 – 2022
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Attorney – Judicial Edition 2017 – 2022
  • Top 25 Women in Cleveland, Ohio Super Lawyers 2009, 2012, 2016 – 2018, 2022
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Family Law 2015 – 2021
  • Top 50 Women in Ohio, Ohio Super Lawyers, 2009, 2012, 2016 – 2018
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated Attorney
  • America’s Most Honored Professionals 2015 – Top 5%
  • Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction Award
  • Martindale-Hubbell Top Rated Lawyers in Litigation

Professional Affiliations

  • The Center for Principled Family Advocacy
    • Trustee
    • Past President
  • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
  • Ohio State Bar Association
  • Ohio Women’s Bar Association
    • Past Chair, Judicial Selection Committee
BAR / COURT ADMISSIONS
  • Ohio
CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
  • Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, Neutral Evaluation Day
    • Volunteer Coordinator and Mediator
  • Temple Tifereth Israel
    • Committee Chair
MEDIA MENTIONS
PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
  • Civil Discovery Practice In Ohio Handbook, chapter author, 1995

PRACTICE AREAS

EDUCATION

  • Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D., 1982
  • Indiana University, M.S., Applied Linguistics, 1977
  • Oberlin College, B.A., English and Judaic Studies, 1975

RECENT KJK INSIGHTS

Spousal and Child Support During the COVID-19 Economy

Spousal and Child Support During the COVID-19 Economy

It seems that every day, we receive more and more discouraging news regarding the economy as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The markets have suffered substantial losses and many restaurants, bars and other businesses across the country have closed....

Co-Parenting in the Age of Coronavirus

Co-Parenting in the Age of Coronavirus

Co-parenting with your former partner or spouse can be challenging in the best of times. The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has certainly made co-parenting more challenging than usual, even for parents who deal with one another well--and new questions are...

I have a unique capacity to listen with compassion to the emotional part of ending a marriage or relationship. My clients know that I really care about them. I strive to not just get them through the process but make sure they are financially and emotionally stable at the end.

Sarah J. Gabinet
Senior Counsel