A good school attorney helps a school district avoid legal problems before claims are presented against it. Our first obligation is to assist the Board of Education in avoiding the burdensome entanglements of litigation so that it can focus on its primary purpose of educating children. We take a pro-active approach in representing our school district clients with a philosophy based on three principles: prevention, resolution and advocacy. To accomplish this, we recommend and encourage the open communication which has become the hallmark of our firm. Our attorneys will attend school board meetings upon request, meet on a regular basis with the Superintendent of Schools, business officials and other school staff as needed and will always respond promptly to any client inquiry. When litigation is inevitable, we use our experience and knowledge of the law and schools to resolve conflict as expeditiously and cost effectively as possible. We believe in providing timely assistance to our clients at an early stage to limit the risks and expense of legal proceedings. And, when resolution is not feasible, we use or legal skills to advocate vigorously on our clients’ behalf. Below are some issues we deal with on a daily basis:

Student Discipline: Education Law Section 3214 requires a hearing in order to suspend a student for more than five days. Project SAVE imposed additional requirements on Principals for shorter suspensions. We are available to advise the Superintendent on these hearings, and upon request, to participate, as counsel or hearing officer.

Residency: Desirable school districts often encounter residency issues. We advise our school districts on the many variations of these problems including divorce, split custody, custody with friends, placement in temporary housing and student immigration status.

Teacher Tenure: While the granting of tenure has traditionally been at the discretion by the school board after a recommendation by the Superintendent, such decisions are sometimes met with opposition. We work with the Superintendent early in the process to ensure that such decisions have a strong legal footing.

Temporary Financing: School districts cannot plan for things such as State Budget impasses that endanger the cash flow of the school district. We have prepared hundreds of short term financing notes to help our school districts maintain liquidity.