Continuing our Profiles in Service series, today we invite you to #GetToKnow Judge Michelle Alvarez Barakat.
Judge Barakat was recently appointed Administrative Judge of the Unified Family Court (UFC) Division, where she works closely with her fellow UFC judges to set policies and procedures to ensure the fair, efficient handling of Family, Juvenile Dependency and Delinquency, and Domestic Violence cases.
She has served the citizens of Miami‑Dade County with distinction since being elected to the County Court in 2012 and joining the bench in 2013 as a County Court Judge. In 2019, she was appointed to the Circuit Court bench by Gov. Ron DeSantis. During her tenure, she has presided over Criminal, Domestic Violence, Civil, and now UFC cases.
Before becoming a Judge, she practiced as a litigator and her favorite work was the time she spent at The Florida Bar in lawyer regulation and advancing the professionalism and ethical standards she values in the profession.
Judge Barakat also contributes to the profession through her continued participation as a member of the faculty for the Florida Judicial College and as a lecturer for the University of Miami.
A proud double alumna of the University of Miami, she holds her bachelor’s degree with General Honors and her Juris Doctor from UM and is an equally proud graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy High School.
Judge Barakat is guided by a personal mantra: success starts with teamwork and thrives on passion. She views this as the hallmark of the UFC Division and sets this as the standard she strives to uphold every day.
She emphasizes that nothing in the UFC Division is done alone – every improvement and every success reflects the shared efforts of judges, administrative staff, and justice partners. “We are all equally important pieces of a puzzle,” she says.
As Administrative Judge of the UFC Division, Judge Barakat works closely with the Family and Domestic Violence Divisions and has found these collaborations to be most meaningful since she stepped into her new role.
Equally important to Judge Barakat is her family. She credits her late grandfather – an attorney in Miami and former judge in Cuba – as the inspiration behind her legal career. Some of her favorite childhood memories are of accompanying him to the historic Dade County Courthouse. That inspiration came full circle when her grandfather attended her graduation from law school, proudly watching his granddaughter follow in his steps.
Judge Barakat and her husband, Brian Barakat, a Coral Gables attorney and law firm owner, have two children and are celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary after meeting years ago at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, where the law drew them together: he worked as a prosecutor back then and she as a defense attorney.
She often says that being a mother is her number one job and strives to bring that same care and compassion to the children and families who appear before her in UFC.