K-12 School Districts
Special Education
Educational institutions are responsible for ensuring that all students with disabilities are provided with a free appropriate public education. State and federal special education regulations place heightened legal obligations on educational institutions with respect to educating students with disabilities, which includes complying with specific procedures in the delivery of educational services to students.
Student Rights
We regularly assist and advise districts regarding a broad range of student-related matters. Our attorneys help clients develop and implement legally sound strategies for discipline and, when necessary, the exclusion of students who engage in misconduct in school settings.
Title IX
Our team specializes in Title IX compliance, assisting school districts with policy development, handling sexual harassment reports, and implementing required procedures.
Labor & Employment
Our attorneys counsel employers in all aspects of the employment relationship, including collective bargaining, hiring and termination decisions, employee discipline and reductions in force, employee leave and disability accommodation requests, and investigations of employee misconduct and harassment complaints.
Public Finance & Taxation
Preserving and enhancing revenue is critical to providing vital services. Our attorneys are knowledgeable about strategies for protecting and increasing revenue from property taxes and other sources.
We place a strong emphasis on teamwork, which enables us to leverage the breadth and depth of knowledge of all our attorneys, paralegals, and staff.
Commercial Contracts
We are a team of experienced attorneys who handle construction contracts, construction litigation, real estate, and zoning matters. We also provide counsel to school districts and boards of education on all aspects of these areas of school law.
Real Estate
Our firm works with many clients to help them successfully complete real estate transactions.
Construction
Our Construction practice area guides both public and private sector clients through all aspects of the planning and implementation of construction, remodeling, and repair projects.
Data Privacy
Our attorneys assist education clients in safeguarding student records and personal information through proactive measures.
Our Clients Include:
- Property Owners
- Developers
- Contractors
- Subcontractors
- Suppliers
Board Governance
Our team has extensive experience working with board members on a wide range of governance matters, from routine procedural issues to some of the most complex and impactful decisions they face.
Open Meetings Act (OMA)
Our firm regularly assists school districts with Open Meetings Act (OMA) compliance.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
We have thorough knowledge of the FOIA requirements, and within our firm we have identified a robust FOIA response team of attorneys to ensure efficient and cost-effective expert analysis in support of complex FOIA requests.
Election
Our firm assists educational institutions in ensuring legally compliant and fair elections, providing guidance, intervention, and defense against legal challenges to election procedures.
Litigation
We pursue and defend our clients’ interests vigorously, whether in state or federal court or before administrative agencies. While all of our attorneys are experienced litigators, we also have a cadre of attorneys specializing in litigation defense.
School Board Liability & Defense
School board members have a difficult and sometimes thankless job. Despite a board’s best efforts to provide a safe and effective educational experience to all students, problems will occasionally arise.
When issues involving school board liability come up, they tend to detract from a board’s attention from where it belongs. Our education attorneys are ready to step in to defend school boards and individual board members from all types of accusations, including:
- Failing to respond to allegations of bullying or sexual misconduct;
- Failure to provide adequate supervision of students;
- Failing to provide an appropriate education to students;
- Employment disputes, such as wrongful termination, discrimination, or harassment; and
- Making false or misleading statements to state officials.
We offer a holistic approach to representation and advise clients during all stages of our relationship.
Charter Schools
Our team has experience helping charter schools address a wide range of legal issues. We also work with charter schools to secure additional funding to ensure schools have the capital necessary to provide students with the education they deserve.
Charter schools are public schools that operate under a contract—or charter—with an authorizing agency. In most cases, the agencies authorizing a charter school include non-profit organizations, government agencies, or universities. Charter schools have the freedom to pursue specific educational goals, providing administrative flexibility regarding the school’s curriculum, staff, and budget. However, the charter also holds a school accountable to the same legal obligations as other public schools.
Currently, approximately 3.7 million students attend more than 7,800 charter schools and campuses nationwide. Collectively, charter schools receive more than $440 million in funding. These figures are growing as parents continue to look for alternatives to public education. However, for those operating charter schools, as enrollment and demand grow, so do the school’s legal needs.
Private Schools
We were founded on the principle that schools are unique environments best served by a law firm that concentrates on the legal issues affecting them. Our firm represents over 250 educational entities, including community colleges, public school districts, special education cooperatives, and vocational cooperatives.
