Callegary & Steedman, P.A.

Ellen A. Callegary, a practicing attorney for 29 years and a founding partner of the Baltimore law firm of Callegary & Steedman, P.A., focuses on special education , disability and family law issues. Ellen is trained in civil and family law mediation. She is also a member of the Maryland Collagorative Law Association (http://www.marylandcollaborativelawassociation.com) and handles collaborative family law cases. She represents children and adults with disabilities to help them get appropriate services such as special education and rehabilitation services throughout the state. She also helps families through the guardianship, mental health and health care decision making processes.

Ms. Callegary has a long history of involvement in disability issues. During her ten years as an assistant attorney general for the State of Maryland, she worked directly with two Attorneys General advising state agencies on matters related to the rights of persons with disabilities and serving as principal counsel for the Department of Juvenile Services. She has lectured extensively on special education and health law, and taught an AIDS Legal Clinic and a Mental Health Law Clinic as a clincal law professor at the University of Maryland School of Law where she most recently taught the "Civil Right of Persons with Disabilities Seminar" as an adjunct professor. In 2003, Ellen completed three years as the Chair of the Juvenile Law Committee of The Bar Association of Baltimore City.

Ms. Callegary is the author of The IDEA"s Promise Unfulfilled: A Second Look at Special Education & Related Services for Children with Mental Health Needs After Garret F, 5 J. Health Care LAW. & Policy 164 (2002) and author of Chapter 2, "Consent & Competency" in "Best Practices in Developmental Disabilities: A Maryland Resource", Office of External Affairs, University of Maryland (2005). She is the Co-Author of "A Special Education Primer", Md. Bar Journal Vol. XXXIII, Number 2. Ellen is a member of the Education Advocacy Coalition for Students with Disabilities. "The Daily Record" named Ellen one of Maryland's Top 100 Women for 2000 & 2004. Ellen is a past president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and a former Woman's Law Center Board Member. Ms. Callegary is an honors graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law and an honors graduate of the Johns Hopkins University.

Wayne D. Steedman is a partner in the law firm of Callegary & Steedman, P.A. His practice is devoted primarily to the representation of children with disabilities. He has represented his clients in administrative due process hearings and state and federal courts. Mr. Steedman obtained his J.D. degree from the University of Maryland Law School. In addition to his law degree, Mr. Steedman has a Masters degree in social work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Steedman was in charge of the clinical treatment program at the Forbush School at Shepherd Pratt Hospital where he was employed for more than 20 years. Additionally he served for approximately ten years as a Due Process Hearing officer in special education cases. In Gerstmyer v. Howard County Public Schools, Mr. Steedman was able to convince the U.S. District Court Judge that a Montessori School was able to provide a free appropriate public education for a child with a learning disability. The Judge thus found that a school which is not a traditional special education school can be an appropriate placement for children with disabilities.

Sally Fite Stanfield grew up on a working family dairy farm in Baltimore County and received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from McDaniel College. Sally earned her J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law in 1981, after which she clerked for the Honorable Marvin Smith on the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Prior to joining the law firm of Callegary & Steedman in March of 2004, Sally practiced as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County, Washington, during which time she handled numerous felony jury trials and appeals. Sally thereafter entered private practice in Seattle, Washington and then in Baltimore after returning to Maryland in 1995. Sally worked in her family's farm businesses for several years and taught in a Title One physical education program for pre-kindergarten students in the Baltimore County Public Schools from fall 2000 through spring 2004. She has coached high school girls' lacrosse and officiated high school field hockey. Sally recently retired from showing her Arabian horses.

As a senior attorney with Callegary & Steedman, Ms. Stanfield represents both children and adults with disabilities who need services and supports in school or in post-high school settings. Sally also represents children who have special education needs in school disciplinary meetings. If police charges result from the school violation, Sally represents these children throughout the ensuing juvenile court proceedings. Beyond her practice, Sally volunteers time to youth detention issues through her association with the Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition.

New Associates:

Jim Silver is beginning his legal career with Callegary & Steedman, after service in the Peace Corps and a five-year career as a journalist in Northern Virginia. Mr. Silver is a 2007 graduate from American University-The Washington College of Law and a 1997 graduate from New York University. Although he is a newly minted attorney, Mr. Silver spent a year of law school working in special education and disability law in Washington, D.C., and is excited to be practicing in the field in Maryland. Mr. Silver is also an excited transplant to Baltimore, after spending seven years in the District of Columbia.

Jennifer B. Segal

Paralegals:

Paulette C. Matteson

Betsy K. Gamse