About Sherlyn
Sherlyn Smith combined two professional tracks early in her career. She earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001. After years in social work, she returned to school and received her J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2013. The sequence of degrees shaped how she approaches cases: practical client work followed by courtroom training.
Her early work was squarely in social services. She served as a school social worker at Bloom High School in 2007 and later worked as a licensed clinical social worker for field agencies. Those roles exposed her to child welfare, family dynamics, and trauma. While in law school she took on internships and clinic work that bridged her two fields. She was a law clerk for the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services in 2012 and worked at the National Immigrant Justice Center in 2013. That same year she participated in the VUSL Domestic Violence Clinic under Indiana Supreme Court Rule 2.
Smith moved into private practice after graduation. In 2014 she held associate and lawyer roles at several firms, including Dillard & Noel and Smith Weeden, and she opened The Law Office of Sherlyn Smith, LLC. Those years involved courtroom appearances and client counseling across family and child welfare matters. In 2018 she joined The Foray Firm in Houston. Her resume shows steady movement between social work settings and legal practice, often in areas where the two intersect.
Her admissions include Illinois and Texas. She is a current member of the Illinois State Bar Association. The combination of field experience and legal training informs how she handles evidence, client interviews, and custody evaluations. Colleagues describe her courtroom approach as methodical. Clients from earlier social work roles sometimes remained in touch as matters shifted into legal proceedings.
Today she practices out of The Foray Firm, working on divorce and family law matters in Texas while continuing to draw on her background in social work and child welfare.
