It’s a family tradition. His grandfather was a judge, his father a professor at DePaul University and at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
After studying at the University of Texas as an undergraduate, Scheller attended the Stetson University College of Law — Florida’s oldest law school — where he was number one in his class and won the jurisprudence award for civil procedure.
Before graduating, Scheller transferred to the University of California at Berkley where he did community service and was in the top 1% of his law school graduating class.
Scheller became an assistant Federal defender in Orlando in 2000 and became a supervisor in 2002.
This experience gave him a deep understanding of how the Federal courts work and strengthened is commitment to fight for the rights of those accused of crimes.
In 2004, Scheller moved into private practice, working with noted criminal defense attorney Barry Cohen in Tampa and, after two years with the famously aggressive defender, opened his own practice in Orlando.
In addition to his work in Florida, Scheller has handled Federal cases in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan), the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn), the Western District of Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh), the Western District of New York (Rochester) and the Eastern District of Virginia — a notoriously rigorous jurisdiction that oversees cases originating in Washington, DC.
His deep experience with Federal trial procedure led Scheller to become the CJ Counselor for the Federal Middle District of Florida, representing people who can’t afford to defend themselves against the Federal government in court.
This work, often involving difficult cases, keeps Scheller tuned in to changes in Federal court practices. He trains other attorneys and his written pleadings are well-known and used by lawyers in Federal courts across the country.
Scheller’s legal opinions have been published in premier law journals including Legal Arguments, Mercer Law Journal and Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law.
