Rayni Rabinovitz Bienenfeld
Of Counsel
Rayni@MyKidsLawyer.com
Rayni came to Kershenbaum & Raffaele after practicing special education law in Florida. Rayni is an ardent advocate for youth and young adults with 
disabilities. She focuses her work on special education law, bullying and discrimination, school discipline and truancy, and statewide legislative and policy advocacy for regulations and statutes impacting children. Rayni’s passion for working with this population began when she started a tennis program for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder in high school. Thereafter, Rayni volunteered in special education classrooms as a teaching assistant, interned at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and continued to teach tennis to youth with disabilities.
Prior to joining Kershenbaum & Raffaele, Rayni worked as a staff attorney in the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County’s Education Advocacy Project. There, she represented low-income students who were denied enrollment, due process, and access to appropriate educational placements and services due to disabilities, discrimination, mental health issues, and immigration status. Rayni also provided systemic advocacy to families of students who were denied special education services, Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and families who were denied language access, and students facing disproportionate disciplinary measures. Rayni particularly enjoys lecturing and presenting to families and service providers. At Legal Aid, she presented over thirty “Know Your Rights” parent workshops at homeless shelters, low-income medical clinics, parenting resource centers, and service provider agencies, and conducted trainings to attorneys interested in representing children with special education needs. Rayni served as the Chair of the Children’s Rights Committee of the Florida Bar’s Public Interest Law Section prior to moving to Pennsylvania.
Before working at Legal Aid, Rayni performed attorney contract work for a private special education law firm and for Disability Rights Florida and the Florida Justice Institute on a federal disability discrimination lawsuit. Rayni spent several months working as a Visiting Attorney/Practitioner in Residence at the University of Miami School of Law’s Children and Youth Law Clinic, which provides holistic legal representation to foster care youth. Rayni worked with clinical instructors and law students to represent foster care youth in disability, health care, mental health, and special education matters. Before exclusively practicing special education law, Rayni worked for Talenfeld Law, a private firm dedicated to protecting the rights of abused, neglected and injured foster care children in personal injury and civil rights actions.
A graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, Rayni served as a Miami Scholars recipient as well as an ambassador for prospective Scholars. She graduated magna cum laude of her law school class, earning the Order of the Coif. Rayni graduated summa cum laude from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. Rayni resides in Philadelphia with her husband.
Education
- University of Miami School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude
- Duke University, B.A., summa cum laude
Court Admissions
- Supreme Court of Florida
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Professional Affiliations
- Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
- Disability Rights Bar Association (DRBA)
Experience
- Education Advocacy Project (EAP), Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County – Staff Attorney
- University of Miami School of Law’s Mental Health Law Course – Guest Lecturer
- Making School Work, P.L. – Contract Attorney
- Florida Justice Institute (FJI) & Disability Rights Florida (DRF) – Contract Attorney
- University of Miami School of Law’s Children and Youth Law Clinic (CYLC) – Visiting Attorney/Practitioner-in-Residence
- Talenfeld Law, P.A. – Associate Attorney
- Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, et P.A. – Associate Attorney & Law Clerk
- Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS), Associate General Counsel – Legal Intern/Recipient of Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program Grant
- National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) – Intern
Publications
- The Educational Toolkit (2017), written and published by Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County’s Education Advocacy Project staff attorneys
- Rational Suicide, Irrational Laws: Examining Current Approaches to Suicide in Policy and Law, (Oxford University Press 2016), research acknowledged in book
- Getting Access to Assistive Technology: Getting the Help You Need to Succeed in College and Beyond (2011), article published on the National Center for Learning Disabilities’ online resource page
