Stephanie Martin is a Partner at Lieser Skaff. She focuses her practice on assisting real estate and business clients with their legal needs. Stephanie is board certified in real estate law and began practicing law in 2006. After spending the bulk of her career with large “AmLaw 200” national law firms—specifically, Adams and Reese LLP, Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell P.A., and Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP— she joined LS in May 2018. Her practice consists of both litigation and transactional matters; and she has extensive experience in real estate litigation, commercial and business litigation, and financial services litigation. The following is a representative sample of the matters she has handled:
Real Estate
- Real estate disputes
- Commercial and residential real estate negotiations, sales, acquisitions, contracts,
- Financing, title review, and transactions
- Commercial and residential financing, loan negotiations, foreclosures, short sales, and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosures
- Commercial and residential lease and sub-lease negotiation and review
- Commercial and residential landlord-tenant disputes
- Real estate sales contract disputes
- Restrictive covenant compliance
- Code enforcement challenges
- Title insurance claims
- Fraudulent representation cases concerning property marketing and acquisition
- Homeowners’ and Condominium association matters
Business Law
- Negotiation, preparation, and interpretation of contracts
- Contract disputes and challenges
- Financing and securitization
- Entity operation and management disputes
- Creditor rights, asset recovery, and collections matters
- Consumer protection claims
- Vendor disputes
- Equipment leasing, Outdoor Advertising, Floorplan financing, and more.
Board certification identifies Stephanie as an attorney with special knowledge, skills, and proficiency, as well as a reputation for professionalism and ethics, and is the highest level of evaluation by the Florida Bar of competency and experience. In achieving board certification, Stephanie has been distinguished by the Florida Bar as a specialist and expert in the area of real estate law. Less than 1% of all Florida attorneys have achieved board certification in real estate law from the Florida Bar.
Stephanie is very committed to performing pro bono work in order to aid those individuals who would not otherwise be able to afford legal counsel, particularly in the areas of domestic violence and family law. Since 2010, Stephanie has provided over 700 hours of pro bono work to those in need. Stephanie has been recognized for her pro bono contributions by various organizations in the community. Stephanie is also active in various civic, religious, charitable, and pro bono organizations. She serves on the Boards of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of St. Petersburg and Angels for Change, Inc.
Hailing from the Chicago suburbs, Stephanie graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2006. While studying at Notre Dame, Stephanie served on the editorial staff for the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, was chosen for both Notre Dame’s moot court trial team and moot court appellate team, studied international law at Notre Dame’s London campus, and lived and worked as an assistant rector at Lewis Hall, the largest women’s dormitory on campus.
Prior to law school, Stephanie earned her Honors Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, in just three years from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a major in Writing Intensive English and a minor in Criminology and Law Studies. At Marquette, Stephanie competed on the national-qualifying mock trial team, served as president of the Marquette chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society, and was selected into the university’s Academic Honors Program, Pre-Law Scholars Program, and Alpha Sigma Nu Honors Society.
In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and extended family. She loves Disney World, Notre Dame football, superhero-based TV shows and movies, running, reading, and all kinds of music.
- Morris-Piard v. Piard, 198 So. 3d 656 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)
- Hirsch v. Hirsch, 136 So.3d 622 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)
- Hartnett v. US Exp. Leasing, Inc., 172 So. 3d 877 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)
- Capricorn Inv. Corp., Inc. v. CBS Outdoor, Inc., 158 So. 3d 574 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
- Lansdowne v. Scheibelhut, 85 So. 3d 489 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)
- Catholic Charities, Board of Trustees and Finance Committee, 2012-Present
- Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section, Pro Bono Committee
- Florida Bar Pro Bono Real Estate Certified Lawyer on Call
- Florida Bar Foundation, Fellow
- Nativity Catholic Church and School, Volunteer
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
- Christian Business Connections, Fishhawk Chapter, Executive Team
- Christian Chamber of Commerce, Tampa Bay
- Tampa Bay Catholic Lawyers Guild
- Alliance Defending Freedom, Allied Attorney
- Hillsborough County Bar Association Leadership Institute, Graduate, 2013
