Child Advocate Lawyer Stacie Schmerling Named ‘Rising Star’
Talenfeld Law Partner Stacie Schmerling recently was recognized as a “Rising Star” by the Daily Business Review – the leading South Florida publication for the legal profession. A long-time child advocate who pursues cases of child abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse perpetrated against children by organizations and institutions entrusted to care for them, Stacie was recognized as a South Florida lawyers under the age of 40 who is making a difference in the community and will continue to do so in the future. Read more here.
Stacie helped found Talenfeld Law after a successful career in child advocacy law and social services. She had been an associated in the Foster Care/Disabled Persons Damages Division of another law firm, where she practiced in the area of civil rights and child welfare.
She received a Certification in Child Advocacy from Montclair State University in 2002. This Post-Bachelor of Arts Certificate Program emphasized a multidisciplinary understanding of the child advocate’s role as seen through the disciplines of law, sociology and psychology.
While subsequently earning her Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center, Stacie served as a Certified Legal Intern for the school’s Children and Families Clinic. There, she was involved in all aspects of family law relating to domestic relations cases typically referred by Legal Aid Services of Broward County, such as filing petitions, discovery and attending mediations and hearings.
Stacie graduated third in her law school class and was a Goodwin Scholarship recipient. She served as the Submissions Editor for the Nova Law Review, for which her student article Combating the ‘Baby Dumping’ Epidemic: A Look at Florida’s Safe Haven Law, was selected for publication. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Law and Justice, magna cum laude, from Rowan University in 1998.
She served as Child Protective Investigator Supervisor with the Broward Sheriff’s Office. As a child protective investigator for the Broward Sheriff’s Office, she supervised a six-person staff that investigated allegations of child abuse and neglect, provided intervention services to families at risk and brought serious cases of child abuse and neglect to the dependency court system.
Previously, she was a Family Service Specialist with the NJ Division of Youth and Family Services/Dept. of Children and Families. There, she worked to facilitate safety and permanency for abused and neglected children in the State foster care system.