Karen Malan

Karen Malan is an attorney, accredited family and divorce mediator, RAF and personal injury mediator, and dispute resolution strategist, serving as Director at Malan Vermeulen Incorporated (MV Inc) and Managing Director of Alternative Conflict Resolution (Pty) Ltd. With over two decades of legal and business experience, Karen operates at the forefront of alternative dispute resolution in South Africa, with a particular focus on family mediation, court-connected ADR, and large-scale mediation programme implementation. Karen holds both a B.Proc and LLB from the University of the Free State and was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 1997. Her career spans though private legal practice, corporate advisory roles (including Standard Bank), and entrepreneurial ventures across business and nonprofit sectors. She is a NABFAM-accredited family and divorce mediator and holds advanced training in family mediation, divorce mediation, psychology for family mediation, and RAF (Road Accident Fund) mediation. She is also DiSAC-accredited in personal injury and RAF claims mediation. Karen plays a central leadership role in advancing ADR accessibility and standards. She is the Project Director of the ADR Court Project, which integrates mediation into the Children’s Court system in Protea (Soweto) and Johannesburg Central, expanding access to justice for families in high-conflict environments. As Managing Director of ACR Community NPC, she is actively involved in developing community-based mediation initiatives and scalable ADR frameworks. Her leadership in the profession includes serving as an EXCO Member of the Social Justice Association (SJA) of ADR Practitioners (2024–2025), contributing to governance, accreditation standards, and professional development within the mediation sector. Karen’s work has been formally recognised, including receiving an award for Best Mediation Contribution (2024) from ProBono.Org, reflecting her impact on access to justice and the development of mediation in South Africa.