Principal, Karen J. Lapekas, Esq.
Karen J. Lapekas, Esq. is board-certified in tax law by the Florida Bar. She is a member of the American College of Tax Counsel, chairs the South Florida Tax Litigation Association, and teaches Federal Tax Practice and Procedure at the University of Miami School of Law as an Adjunct Professor.
A huge advocate of pro bono work, she was recognized with the 2022 Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award by the American Bar Association’s Tax Section. She is the pro bono coordinator for the Tax Court Calendar Call Program through the Florida Bar Tax Section (Miami, FL calendars), and is the President of the Board of Directors for Legal Services of Greater Miami.
She grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and attended Michigan Technological University (coursework: Civil Engineering), Western Michigan University (Bachelor’s: Psychology, Minor: Mathematics), and Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Juris Doctor: Litigation), before earning a Master’s in Tax Law (LLM) from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
Outside of the office (and sometimes even at the office), Karen is busy raising her two children with her husband. Her hobbies used to be numerous and exciting. But now, she is happy to make it to a CrossFit gym several times a week, practice the piano once in a while, make it to mass at St. Thomas the Apostle most Sundays, and tuck her kids into bed every night.
Karen is admitted to practice law in the Michigan, New York, and Florida State Courts, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and the United States Tax Court. In matters before the IRS and the U.S. Tax Court, she can represent clients in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Prior to starting Lapekas Law, Karen was a Senior Attorney with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, where she was the lead attorney for the IRS on over 170 cases in the United States Tax Court. These cases involved taxpayers who were entrepreneurs, couples, single parents, students, high-profile and high-income athletes and business persons, unemployed or retired individuals, estates, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, trusts, and current and former partners or shareholders. Of the 170+ cases, several went to trial. She conducted trials before at least 6 different Tax Court judges. As a former Special Assistant United States Attorney, she also represented the United States’ interests in collection of tax liabilities in Bankruptcy Court. Through intense study of the Internal Revenue Code and years of working as an attorney for the IRS, she believes that many people are paying too much and the IRS often demands more money than people can afford to pay. She also knows that the Internal Revenue Code and the IRS offer relief to taxpayers in these situations and that countless people are needlessly burdened with the stress associated with tax audits and the IRS’ collection efforts.
This is why Karen founded Lapekas Law: to ensure that her clients do not give the IRS one dollar more than they owe or one dollar more than they can afford to pay.