Local lawyer receives ‘young professional’ award

A partner at an East Meadow law firm recently received the ATHENA Young Professional Award.

Michelle Schmitt, a Jericho resident, was honored at a Jan. 7 breakfast ceremony at Oheka Castle. She is a partner in the Real Estate Group at Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP, a firm headquartered at 90 Merrick Ave. in Nassau County.

ATHENA International is a nonprofit organization that seeks to support, develop and honor female leaders; the ATHENA Young Professional Award was launched in 2013. The recipient must be a young woman who demonstrates excellence and creativity in her profession; provides valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in the community; and clearly serves as a role model for young women both personally and professionally.

Before joining the firm, Schmitt interned for the Honorable E. Thomas Boyle, a magistrate judge in the United States District Court, EDNY. She also served as the deputy New York finance director for “Gephardt for President” from April 2003 until January 2004. Schmitt also had the opportunity to interview former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for the August 2004 issue of CosmoGirl! Magazine.

Active in her community, Schmitt was formerly a mentor in the Lawyers Involved in Kids’ Education Program, which is affiliated with the Long Island Mentoring Partnership, and was chosen to speak at their 14th annual benefit. She has served as captain of the Action Long Island/American Heart Association Long Island Corporate Wellness Challenge for the firm, and is a member of the Marcum Corporate Workplace Challenge Committee.

She is currently serving as the event chair of the 2016 American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women annual luncheon and is president of her homeowners association’s board of directors. Schmitt is also a member of LIREG, the Huntington Chamber of Commerce’s Women-in-Business Committee and Long Island University’s Rising Professionals Group.

Schmitt earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from George Washington University in 2004. In 2007, she graduated cum laude from Touro College Jacob D. Fuschberg Law Center, earning three awards for academic excellence, the National Association Women Lawyers Award and the ABA/BNA Award for Excellence in Labor and Employment Law.

The Huntington Chamber of Commerce named Schmitt one of the top 30 young professionals under 30; she was also on the 2016 Long Island Business News “40 Under 40” list. The American Heart Association also honored her with an Outstanding Service Award in 2014, in addition to the Development Achievement Award in 2015.

Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP is Long Island’s second largest full-service law firm with offices in Nassau, Suffolk and New Jersey. For further information, log on to certilmanbalin.com.