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| Jacksonville's
adoption attorney |
| Article
- Daily Record - November 25, 1997 |
| By
Stewart Verney - Editor |
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For Michael Shorstein, handling adoptions is a way of life. The Jacksonville attorney doesn’t just specialize in adoptions; it’s all he does.
“That’s all I do, 100 percent of the time,” Shorstein said.
But it hasn’t always been that way. Shorstein earned an accounting degree from
the University of Florida and then worked for a sports agent in Orlando
after going to law school at Florida State University.
He worked in criminal defense with Harry Shorstein before his uncle was appointed State Attorney.
But his practice is now devoted entirely to representing First Coast Counseling Professionals, the local adoption agency he works with. |
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| Michael
A. Shorstein |
| Adoption
Attorney |
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Shorstein’s specialty is representing adoptive
parents and working with birth
mothers. And with his connection through the
American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, he says he
can find a family for the child of any birth
mother that comes through his door. “I will
always be able to help them,” he said.
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Shorstein says he can find suitable families for
any child, regardless of gender, race or
disability; he can even find homes for twins or
even triplets.
Shorstein said the change to adoption
work is the best professional move he’s made.
“I’ve phased out the other areas of negative
law and practice only happy law,” Shorstein
said. |
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Though he downplays it, Shorstein is pro-life. Which makes
it all the more curious that he has some objections to the
public attitude toward adoption in Jacksonville. As an
advocate for adoption – and by implication an opponent
of abortion – Shorstein would seem to be a natural ally
of local churches. But, as he points out, the alternative
to abortion that most religious leaders advocate is not
adoption but abstinence. The result, says Shorstein, is
that Jacksonville is “one of the abortion hotbeds in the
state.” |
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The mindset, Shorstein said, is “don’t terminate,
don’t adopt, don’t get pregnant. It’s pathetic.
They’re ostriches with their heads in the sand.” |
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To change that mindset, Shorstein said he is willing to go
to any school or church and talk about the options that
pregnant women have. But the invitations are scarce, and
Shorstein said he has seen no change in the overall
attitude in five years he has been doing adoptions. What
has changed, he said, is the pervasiveness of the abortion
message. “I’ve seen a tremendous growth in the
advertising for terminations,” he said, “which tells
me the abstinence approach is not working.” |
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In crude terms, it is still a sellers market in the
adoption game. For every healthy white baby that is put up
for adoption, Shorstein said, there are 50 families ready
to adopt it. It’s not cheap though. Florida allows birth
mothers to be paid for living and medical expenses (the
law varies among states), and the cost to an adoptive
family can run as high as $25,000.
“That’s in the gross minority though,
because most of the mothers will qualify for Medicaid,”
he said. Another change in the field, Shorstein said, is
how open it now is. |
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“When I first started doing adoptions, everything was
secret, he said. “Now it’s out in the open. We’ve
taken all the mystery out of it. We want everyone to meet
and get to know each other.” That openness, he said, has
made the process more satisfying on all sides –
including his. |
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Shorstein
& Kelly Affiliations
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| Both
Michael A. Shorstein &
Brian T. Kelly are
Board Certified Adoption Attorneys and are active members of the
Florida Adoption Council and the prestigious
American Academy of Adoption
Attorneys.
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| The
AAAA is an association of attorneys, judges, and law professors in the United States and Canada who are dedicated to the highest standards of practice in the field of adoption law. |
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| Membership is by invitation only from the Board of Trustees based on criteria for excellence in the practice of adoption. |
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| They have achieved the highest possible rating (“AV”) from
LexisNexis/Martindale-Hubbell, a national independent service that rates law firms throughout the country. |
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"Building Families & Dreams Through Adoption" |
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| Adoption
Is An Option... A
Loving Choice |
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| Copyright ©
2012 Shorstein & Kelly Attorneys At Law, P.A.
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