TALENFELD LAW GROUP - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Co - Business Unit Leader / Partner

Howard has been equally as effective in the state capital. He helped write the law that required mandatory reporting of child-on-child sexual abuse and rape in community facilities. He also advocated for and helped encourage passage and the governor's signature on House Bill 561 (§ 39.01305/ Appointment of an Attorney for a Dependent Child with Certain Special Needs. The new law ensures children who are victims of sexual abuse, sexual trafficking, are on psychotropic medications, or have been committed to a residential treatment facility, have attorneys representing them in all legal or administrative proceedings. Previously, attorneys were not required, and the best interests of such children were not assured.

Job Titles:

• Attorney
• Attorney / Attorney Bio
• Kelley Kronenberg Attorney

Julianna B. Walo is an attorney in the Justice for Kids Division of Kelley Kronenberg. From the firm's Chicago office, she assists in providing legal services to abused, disabled, and catastrophically injured children harmed at home, in child welfare and foster care settings, group home settings and residential treatment centers, as well as all children harmed by the acts of others. Prior to joining the firm, Julianna gained experience at a Chicago-based firm where she provided legal analysis of wrongful death, catastrophic injury, toxic tort, product liability, premises liability, and construction negligence cases. She provided pro bono services for a prisoner's civil rights suit. She also served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Moira S. Johnson in the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, handling a wide variety of responsibilities including drafting judicial orders and opinions on behalf of the Court and conferring with judges for the resolution of cases.

Job Titles:

• Partner
• Co - Business Unit Leader / Partner / Attorney Bio
• Co - Business Unit Leader / Partner / Division of Kelley Kronenberg
• Fellow Business Unit Leader

Florida's Children First (FCF), a statewide advocacy organization focused on protecting the legal rights of at-risk and foster care children, is proud to announce the addition of Justin Grosz to its Board of Directors. "We are privileged to have Justin join the board of FCF and look forward to the many contributions we know he… View Article Justin Grosz is a Co-Business Unit Leader/Partner in the firm's Justice for Kids Division, Kelley Kronenberg's national practice dedicated to providing legal services to abused, disabled, and catastrophically injured children harmed at home, in child welfare and foster care settings, group home settings and residential treatment centers, as well as all children harmed by the acts of others. Justin focuses his practice on Injured, Abused and Neglected Children; Child Safety, Catastrophic Injury, Wrongful Death, and Civil Rights. A veteran trial lawyer of more than 25 years, Justin has devoted his legal career to fighting for the less fortunate who have been victimized at the hands of others. He has achieved multi-million dollar awards for clients, including at-risk children, in catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice and other matters. During Justin's decade-long career as an Assistant State Attorney in Broward County, Florida, he oversaw the investigation and prosecution of violent career criminals. He also supervised fellow prosecutors in the investigation and prosecution of individuals charged with serious criminal offenses. Since leaving public service, Justin has represented police officers and police departments in civil rights cases and has been appointed on a number of occasions to serve, and try cases, as a Special Prosecutor. Over the course of his impressive career, Justin has tried in excess of 230 jury trials to verdict, fighting for those killed or catastrophically injured. He has helped recover millions of dollars and find justice for his clients. Justin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University. He then went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. Practice Areas Catastrophic Injury Fellow Business Unit Leader Justin D. Grosz for 25 years has focused his practice on injured, abused and neglected Children; catastrophic injury; wrongful death; child safety; and civil rights claims.

Job Titles:

• Attorney / Attorney Bio
• Business Unit Partner

Kayla Riera-Gomez is a Business Unit Partner in the firm's Justice for Kids Division, Kelley Kronenberg's expanding national practice dedicated to providing legal services to abused, disabled, and catastrophically injured children harmed in foster care, shelters, residential treatment centers, group homes, and other child welfare settings, as well as all children harmed by the acts of others. Kayla has always been driven by a passion for helping Florida's most vulnerable children. She previously worked for nearly a decade in the public sector as a Legislative Assistant to leaders in both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate and gained extensive experience with child welfare and adoption legislation. Kayla attended law school at Nova Southeastern University, while working full-time for the Florida House of Representatives. Kayla spent the first 13 years of her legal career working for large defense firms representing child welfare agencies, schools and after school programs, churches, and rehabilitation facilities in high stakes personal injury claims. Kayla joined Kelley Kronenberg's Justice for Kids division to pursue to her passion for advocating for children who have suffered catastrophic injuries and trauma. Her diverse experience with child welfare and social service issues provides Kayla with the unique ability to assess both sides of cases involving child welfare and adoption issues. Kayla's empathy for the families she represents and her recognition of the impact trauma has on families is central to her litigation style. She is dedicated to navigating her clients through identification of therapeutic supports to stabilize the family, in conjunction with moving litigation in a manner to minimize the impact of litigation on the child and family. Kayla works tirelessly to guide her clients through the litigation to a place where the family has the financial resources and tools to move forward in their lives. Kayla received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with a minor in Political Science from Florida State University. Kayla then went on to receive her Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center. Practice Areas Justice for Kids

Job Titles:

• Kelley Kronenberg Attorney

Kelley Kronenberg, a multi-practice business law firm, and its Justice for Kids Division are pleased to announce Attorney Julianna Walo has been selected for inclusion as a Rising Star in the 2022 issue of Illinois Super Lawyers magazine. Julianna has been included in the publication since 2020. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a… View Article

Job Titles:

• Member of the Volusia County Bar Association
• Practice Group Partner / Attorney Bio
• Practice Group Partner / Division of Kelley Kronenberg

Lisa M. Elliott is a Practice Group Partner in the firm's Justice for Kids Division, Kelley Kronenberg's national practice dedicated to providing legal services to abused, disabled, and catastrophically injured children harmed at home, in child welfare and foster care settings, group home settings and residential treatment centers, as well as all children harmed by the acts of others. Lisa began her legal career working under the late Gainesville lawyer Gloria Fletcher. During her time at Gloria W. Fletcher, P.A., she represented children who had been injured or abused in the Florida child welfare system, and advocated for clients in personal injury claims and other civil matters. Lisa gained early experience with the court system as a judicial intern under the Honorable Elizabeth A. Kovachevich at the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, where she drafted court opinions and observed criminal and civil court proceedings. The experience interning for the Court left a lasting mark on her, as it gave her insight into the prosecution and defense of criminal and civil matters, and what courts consider when deciding on critical issues that arise in the cases before them. Prior to joining Talenfeld Law, Lisa was in private practice handling personal injury, other civil cases and criminal defense matters. Additionally, she acquired experience with children's rights issues while working as a law clerk for Children's Legal Services at the Department of Children and Families in Lake City, Florida. In this role, she assisted in research, drafted petitions and attended hearings. Her first-hand experience of the legal aspects of the child welfare system led her to continue the fight for children's voices in our state to be heard and never forgotten. From 2012-2013, Lisa served as the chair of the Legal Needs of Children Committee under the Public Interest Law Section of the Florida Bar. Active in the legal community, Lisa is a member of the Volusia County Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Public Interest Law section of the Florida Bar, and the Volusia Flagler Association for Women Lawyers. She also enjoys serving her community through providing pro bono legal services, having participated in the volunteer attorney program at Three Rivers Legal Services, a non-profit corporation which provides free civil legal services to low-income, eligible clients in seventeen counties throughout North Florida. She is proud to serve her clients, her community and the law. A "triple Gator," Lisa earned dual degrees in finance and psychology, graduating with honors in both disciplines, from the University of Florida and received her juris doctor, cum laude, from the University of Florida's Levin College of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Florida, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Practice Areas Personal Injury/Civil Rights

Job Titles:

• Practice Group Partner / Attorney Bio
• Practice Group Partner / Division of Kelley Kronenberg

Nicole R. Coniglio is a Practice Group Partner in the firm's Justice for Kids Division, Kelley Kronenberg's national practice dedicated to providing legal services to abused, disabled, and catastrophically injured children harmed at home, in child welfare and foster care settings, group home settings and residential treatment centers, as well as all children harmed by the acts of others. Prior to joining Talenfeld Law, Nicole was part of a legal team at Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky, Abate & Webb, P.A.'s foster care / disabled persons damages practice area headed by Howard Talenfeld. In 2013, Nicole was honored by the Daily Business Review with the Most Effective Lawyers Award in the Public Interest Section for her work in securing private duty nursing care for a medically complex child, a benefit for which the child needed and was eligible for, but that had been previously denied by the state. As a result of this case and other public criticism of the Agency for Health Care Administration's policies, the agency changed its rules enabling hundreds of other Florida children to receive similar benefits to which they were entitled. Nicole received an academic scholarship from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, where she graduated summa cum laude. Nicole was a member of Nova Law Review and held the position of Executive Justice for Academics within Moot Court Society. Nicole graduated cum laude from Florida State University with Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Marketing. Practice Areas Personal Injury/Civil Rights

Job Titles:

• Governor

On Friday, March 23, 2018, Governor Rick Scott signed CS/HB 6509, a claims bill that directs the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to pay more than $5 million awarded by a Florida jury to C.M.H., a victim of sexual abuse by a child in foster care. This marks the largest known recovery in… View Article

Job Titles:

• Co - Business Unit Leader / Partner
• Justice for Kids Business Unit Leader

Justice for Kids Business Unit Leader Stacie Schmerling is a veteran child abuse case worker and investigator who has 15 years of experience working in the child welfare systems in New Jersey and Florida, and has worked alongside Talenfeld since 2008.