Kara Salovaara

Kara Salovaara is a longtime advocate for survivors of domestic violence, with extensive experience in family law. She joined ADZ Law, LLP in September 2024 and focuses on all areas of family law, including marriage dissolution, custody, property division, and domestic violence restraining orders. Her unique combination of experience working with survivors of domestic violence and her background in finance makes her particularly well-suited to handling cases that require sophisticated financial analysis and a strong understanding of financial and emotional domestic abuse.

During her time at Stanford Law School, Kara demonstrated her commitment to advocacy through her involvement with the Veteran's Legal Assistance Pro Bono Project and the Women of Stanford Law Mentorship program. Prior to graduation, Kara worked as a Law Clerk at ADZ Law, where she assisted in several dissolution, custody, and restraining order matters. She was also a Bar-Certified Law Clerk in the Sexual Assault Unit of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, where she wrote legal briefs and argued motions in cases involving domestic violence and sexual assault.

Before law school, Kara founded Civic Links, Inc., a technology company developing tools to help individuals access government safety net benefits. The platform gained over 150,000 users within its first three months. Prior to founding Civic Links, she served as Deputy Director of La Casa de las Madres, San Francisco's largest domestic violence response organization. In this role, she oversaw the operations of community programs serving over 1,900 survivors annually, while managing a $3.7 million budget. Kara was also responsible for the organization’s fundraising and increased private fundraising for the organization by over 40% during her tenure. She also created the organization's first-of-its-kind Emergency Text Line and managed the state-mandated domestic violence advocate training program.

Her professional background also includes five years in the financial sector, serving as an Investment Banking Analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she executed over 30 financial transactions including the Facebook IPO, and as an Investor Relations Associate at Marcato Capital Management LP, a $3 billion activist hedge fund. This financial expertise, combined with her extensive experience working with survivors of domestic violence, allows her to effectively advocate for clients in cases involving complex financial matters while maintaining a trauma-informed approach.

Kara holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. in Political Science with a Legal Studies concentration from Williams College, where she graduated cum laude. At Williams, she served as a two-year Women's Soccer Team Captain and earned All-American honors while maintaining academic excellence, appearing on the Dean's List for five semesters.