Saturday, March 7^th, 2020 ▪ 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

 

3.1 Trial Tactics from a Trial Lawyer

 

Amy Langerman

Law Offices of Amy G. Langerman

6215 Branting Street

San Diego, CA  92122

858-900-2360

alangermanlaw@aol.com

www.amylangerman.com 

 

All Levels of Experience

All Attendees

 

This session reviews various trial strategies from pleading to closing argument to how to better present a due process case.

 

Amy Langerman is an Arizona licensed attorney and California Special Education Consultant, and a parent of a son with Aspergers who not only graduated from college (Phi Beta Kappa) but went on to law school and is now a practicing attorney.  Amy spent the first 20 years of her career as a top civil litigator in Phoenix, Arizona and had some of the largest employment discrimination and wrongful termination verdicts in Arizona history.  In Arizona, Amy was elected as the president of the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association and as Governor to the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and spent 12 years as a judge pro tem on the Maricopa County Superior Court bench.  In 1996, Amy handled her first due process case (as a parent). With no one in Arizona to help guide her, Amy reached out to those in California to teach her and thereafter paid it forward handling pro-bono due process litigation in Arizona for the next 6 years. After moving to California in 2002, Amy started her career over, walking away from her successful litigation practice and setting up shop as a special education consultant, serving families in San Diego County and helping with educational planning.  She consults with IEP teams, visits classrooms, researches curriculum all to support the families with whom she is consulting. Amy continues to travel back to Arizona to handle due process matters that cannot be amicably solved “at the table” and need to be litigated. She is still undefeated in all cases she has personally filed.  She continues to give back to parents, teaching regularly at workshops and conferences on all areas of special education (both law and practice) and is currently mentoring a new attorney in Arizona.

3.2 When I'm 64: Everything You Need to Know but Didn't Have Time to Ask -- Tools and

Techniques to Plan for the Future

 

Matthew B, Bogin, Esq.

Law office of Matthew B. Bogin

Suite 760

5454 Wisconsin Avenue

Chevy Chase, MD 20815

301 656 1755

matthew.bogin@boginlaw.com    

 

All Levels of Experience

All Attendees

 

While an appropriate education is vital for a child with disabilities, this session addresses the many other challenges that families face in planning for their child’s life after the end of school.  The presenter addresses means tested governmental benefits and why for many these benefits are essential.  The session addresses the need to plan for the future and the tools and techniques that can be employed.  The session will also address guardianship and the alternatives.

 

Matthew B. Bogin practices law in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  He has a degree in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He has two degrees from the Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. and LL.M. (tax). Since 1976 he has worked with families who have children with disabilities in planning for the future.  He has also represented many families in due process hearings as well as in the federal trial and appellate courts in the District of Columbia and Fourth Circuits. Mr. Bogin regularly presents on these planning topics to parent and professional groups.  He is the author of "Group Homes for Persons with Handicaps: Recent Developments in the Law" 55 Western New England Law Review 433 and Representing Learning Disabled Children: A manual for attorneys (1987).

3.3 A Guide to Interpreting and Using School District and Independent Assessment Reports

 

Marcy J.K. Tiffany

Tiffany Law Group, P.C.

23670 Hawthorne Blvd. Suite 204

Torrance, Calif.  90505

Telephone (424) 247-8250 x304

Cell Phone (310) 748-1332

Facsimile (424) 247-8257

www.tiffanylawgroup.com

mtiffany@tiffanylg.com

Intermediate/Advanced

Attorney/Advocate

Learn what to look for when interpreting school district assessment reports and how to get the most out of an independent educational evaluation.

Marcy J.K. Tiffany graduated from UCLA Law School in 1977, where she was Order of the Coif, and an editor of the UCLA Law Review and also received a M.A. in Economics from UCLA in 1978.  She clerked for the Hon. Marianna Pfaelzer, USDC, Central District, California and for the Hon. Abner Mikva, USCA, D.C. Circuit. Ms. Tiffany has served in a variety of government positions, including the Federal Trade Commission, United States Trustee’s Office and as counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.  She has practiced law at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, in Los Angeles, and at Hughes, Hubbard and Reed, in Washington D.C., and also served as General Counsel of  Hughes Electronics.  She has had an extensive federal court litigation practice, including arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court in FTC v. Indiana Federation of Dentists, 476 U.S. 447 (1986).  Ms. Tiffany began practicing special education law in 2001, and was a founding partner of Wyner & Tiffany in 2003, which specialized exclusively in representing students with educational disabilities.  In 2006, Ms. Tiffany was awarded the California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award in the area of civil rights.  In 2011, Ms. Ms. Tiffany formed Tiffany Law Group, P.C. where she continues to focus on special education cases as a solo practitioner.  Ms. Tiffany was recently selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer for the 13th time.              

3.4 FBAs and BIPs:  Obtaining and Using a Quality Evaluation to Make Your Case

 

Michele G. Scavongelli, Esq. Senior Counsel
The EdLaw Project
44 Bromfield Street, Second Floor
Boston, MA  02108
Office:  (617) 910-5845
Mobile:  (978) 505-1844
Fax: (978) 268-5145
Email: mscavongelli@publiccounsel.net

 

Lindsey Snider, BCBA Proven Behavior Solutions
Plymouth Administrative Office:
4 Court St, Suite 211
Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360
Office:  (781) 290-3886
Fax:   (781) 836-5006
Email: lsnider@provenaba.com

 

All Levels of Experience

All Attendees

 

Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) are instrumental in understanding why a child is engaging in a challenging behavior and providing an effective treatment plan to replace the challenging behavior with new skills.  In this session, jointly led by an experienced BCBA and a special education attorney, attendees learn legal rights for securing an FBA, what makes a quality FBA and BIP, and how these tools can be used to advocate for necessary services and placements for students with a wide range of disabilities.

 

Michele Scavongelli joined the EdLaw Project as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, sponsored by Bingham McCutchen, LLP in September 2012, and has continued on as a staff attorney until the present. Michele has successfully represented over two hundred families in the past seven years in both school discipline and special education matters, prevailing at Administrative Law hearings, in Superior Court and in state complaints.  She has built a pro bono panel for The EdLaw Project and has trained hundreds of delinquency, child welfare, firm, and in-house counsel, as well as parent and community groups in special education advocacy and school discipline rights.  She is also the Deputy Director of the Youth Advocacy Foundation (YAF), a 501(c)(3) organization attached to the state public defender office whose mission is to shut down the school-to-prison pipeline by ensuring that all court-involved kids have access to expert education advocacy. Michele graduated Northeastern University School of Law in 2012. During law school, Ms. Scavongelli was a recipient of a Rappaport Fellowship at the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate and a recipient of a Hennessey Fellowship at the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee. She interned at the Lowell Juvenile Court as well as at the law firm of Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, LLP with a particular focus on special education law. Ms. Scavongelli also assisted victims of domestic violence at the Dorchester and Roxbury Municipal Courts and at Boston Medical Center and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. She has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and as a Special Education Surrogate Parent. Prior to attending law school she spent 29 years as an executive in the life insurance industry. She is on the board of Bottom Line, an organization that is dedicated to helping disadvantaged students get in to college, graduate from college, and go far in life. She earned her S.B. in Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979.

 

Lindsey Snider is the Chief Operating Officer of Proven Behavior Solutions.  She has more than 20 years of professional experience working with children; 13 years of that with young children & adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD.)  An expert in ABA, Lindsey has worked for various private and not-for-profit organizations providing direct ABA services and supervising teams of therapists in Florida, Nevada, Massachusetts, and overseas in the United Kingdom. She holds a Massachusetts state license as an Applied Behavior Analyst and meets the BACB Standards for Supervision Requirements to supervise BCaBAs, RBTs, and BCBA Exam Candidates. Lindsey has served as the keynote speaker for the Autism Insurance Resource Center's annual “Insurance Update” event, delivering an address on “Improving Provider Quality” to a large audience of ABA providers from across Massachusetts. She is also the author of the popular blog post for Exceptional Lives, “Ask these 10 questions when searching for a quality ABA provider” which has become a go-to parent resource for Boston Children's Hospital, the AIRC, and other organizations. Lindsey received her BS from Texas A&M University and her MS in Applied Behavior Analysis & Autism from Sage College.  In addition, she has received a Certificate in Special Education Advocacy from the William & Mary Law School.

3.5 Practical Tips for Representing the Low-Income Client: Understanding the Needs and

Challenges that Impact Advocacy

 

Jani S. Tillery, Esq.

Supervising Attorney

Children’s Law Center

501 3^rd Street, NW, 8^th Floor

Washington, D.C. 20001

P: 202-467-4900 ext. 514

F: 202-467-4949

e-mail: jtillery@childrenslawcenter.org

 

Patricia Martin, D.O.

Family Physician

Minnesota Avenue Health Center

3924 Minnesota Avenue, NE

Washington, D.C.  20019

Email: PMartin@UnityHealthCare.org

 

All Levels of Experience

All Attendees

 

The presentation explores the aspects scarcity and poverty that impact low-income client representation. Challenges representing low-income clients are discussed and how implicit biases may influence representation is discussed. The presenters provide strategies on how to overcome these challenges and empower clients to sustain positive outcomes.

 

Jani S. Tillery, Esq. a supervising attorney in the Healthy Together program, a Medical Legal Partnership at DC’s Children’s Law Center. Jani joined Children’s Law Center as a special education staff attorney in 2012. In addition to special education, Jani has experience in Title IX cases, housing, and access to healthcare cases (Medicaid denials). Jani also trains and mentors pro bono attorneys on special education law cases. She is the co-chair of the Special Education Attorneys Roundtable in Washington, D.C. Jani  has litigated in over 70 administrative due process hearings and has experience in U.S. District Court.  Jani has also presented on special education issues and special education litigation practice in many forums, including at the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (“COPAA”) Annual Conference.   Prior to working at Children’s Law Center Jani gained experience in special education working for special education law firms as a law student and as an associate attorney. Jani also previously worked as a staff attorney at Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center advocating for victims of violent crime and identity theft.

 

Dr. Patricia Martin is a family medicine doctor in Washington, District of Columbia. She received her medical degree from Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine.  Dr. Martin practices family medicine at Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C.  Unity Health Care is a Medical-Legal Partnership with Children’s Law Center.

 

Franklin J. Hickman

Hickman & Lowder Co. L.P.A.

1300 East Ninth St. Suite 1020

Cleveland OH 44120

216-861-0360

fhickman@hickman-lowder.com

 

All Levels of Experience

All Attendees

 

A review of legal developments affecting rights of persons with disabilities over the last 50 years.  How society has changed its treatment biases from institutional care for all, to segregated schools, to community based services.  Told from the perspective of a participant in all phases of the history.

 

Franklin J. Hickman is a shareholder in the law firm of Hickman & Lowder Co. L.P.A..  Since his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973 he has focused his career on legal issues affecting persons with mental disabilities.  During nine years as a member of the law reform unit of the Legal Aid Society he brought numerous federal class actions to improve conditions in Ohio state institutions.  Since going into private practice in 1981, he has represented persons with disabilities, families with members who are mentally impaired as well as agencies and county boards throughout the state which provide services to persons with mental illness and developmental disabilities.  He has successfully represented parents in cases under IDEA since 1975 when the original Federal legislation was passed.   He was counsel for Michael Levine in State v. Levine 986 F. 2d 1506 (1993) which established rights of persons found not guilty by reason of insanity and  Knable v. Bexley City School Dist.  238 F.3d 755 (6^th Cir. 2001) which clarified scope of rights of children to free appropriate public education and required school district to pay costs of out-of-state residential services. He is on the faculty of the medical school at Case Western Reserve University and taught for 28 years at the Case Law School teaching law and psychiatry.  He is general counsel for the Ohio Association of County Boards of DD and has been counsel for the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities. In the past 46 years Mr. Hickman has presented over 2,000 seminars and workshops on legal issues relating to mental disabilities.  He was a speaker at the 1998 national institute on special education law, the 1998 training for Ohio Department of Education's Impartial Hearing Officers.  He was on the national board of the Council of Parent Advocates and Attorneys (COPAA) for 15 years and presented at COPAA conferences from 1999 through the present.  As part of the COPAA conferences he developed a series of intensive skills training workshops for attorneys in special education. He has received numerous awards, including the John Minor Wisdom award for Public Service and Professionalism from the American Bar Association Litigation Section in 1994, the Community Service Award from North Coast Community Homes in 2001 and the 2006 President’s Award for Partnering in Quality from the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities.  He inducted in the Cuyahoga County DD Board Hall of Fame.  He has been named an Ohio Super Lawyer since 2012 and among the Best Lawyers in America since 2014.  In 2018 he received a lifetime achievement award from the Ohio Association of County Boards Serving People with DD.

3.7 Autism Spectrum Disorder: How Late Diagnosis,

Misdiagnosis, and No Diagnosis Affects African American and Minority Families and the Preschool-to-Prison-Pipeline

 

Jennifer Price

Law Office of Jennifer O. Price

3950 William Penn Hwy, Ste. 6

Murrysville, PA 15668

(724) 519-7587

jprice@jenniferpricelaw.com

 

Jamie Upshaw, Founder and Executive Director

Autism Urban Connections Inc.

23 Tecumseh Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15207

(412) 853-0115

aucofpgh@yahoo.com

Novice

Advocate, Parent

 

This proposal shares statistical data behind minority children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the significance in receiving an early diagnosis, different characteristics of Conduct/Behavior Disorders minority children are diagnosed with instead of  ASD, which increases the likelihood of Preschool-to-Prison-Pipeline, and provide action steps of specific questions that can be asked of school administrators before or during an IEP meeting.

 

Jennifer Price is a special education attorney in the Pittsburgh metro area.  Attorney Price is a former prosecutor who worked in both the adult and juvenile criminal divisions who left the District Attorney’s Office after seeing the negative effects of IEP non-compliance. Attorney Price has 10 years of legal experience, where she represents children in due process hearings, federal lawsuits and expulsion hearings. She is the author of an upcoming book, titled, More EmpowerEd: Using Real Case Samples to Look Deeper into IEP Management where she breaks down court cases from 2018 with workbook-style questions to help parents better advocate for their child’s education. Mrs. Price is a board member of the Murrysville Community Library Foundation.

 

Jamie Upshaw is the Founder and Executive Director of Autism Urban Connections Inc. (AUC Inc.). Autism Urban Connections Inc. is the first and only African American and Minority family focused 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization in the Commonwealth of PA.  AUC Inc. evolved from a support group created after Ms. Upshaw’s son received an Autism diagnosis due to the lack of support services and resources available in the intercity African American, Minority and Economically Disadvantaged communities. As the years went on the number of families that received services continued to grow, which indicated that the need was larger than a support group. Autism Urban Connections Inc.’s mission is to provide education, support, advocacy, and empowerment, with an emphasis on self-care to parents/caregivers of those diagnosed with Autism, with priority placed on the African American, Minority, and Economically Disadvantaged members of the community. Ms. Upshaw has a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies from Point Park University. She has over 10 years of experience in the Human/Social Service field. Ms. Upshaw is a former Youth Care Worker at Allegheny County Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, a former Case Manager at VisionQuest, also a former PEAL Center Board Member and former Allegheny County Family Support Policy Board Member. She has also served as Chair of Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center (COTRAIC) Policy Council for 2 years and Vice-Chair for one year. Ms. Upshaw lives in Pittsburgh with her three children and is currently enrolled at Arizona State University to obtain a Masters degree in Special Education (Applied Behavior Analyst).

 

 

 

Presenter:

Richard Marsico

Professor of Law and Director of the Impact Center for Public Interest Law

New York Law School

185 W. Broadway

New York, NY 10013

(212) 431-2180

rmarsico@nyls.edu

 

Intended Audience:

Intermediate/Advanced

All  Attendees

 

Brief Session Description:

This presentation considers the question:  Did Endrew F. raise the bar for a FAPE? The session describes the Supreme Court's decision in Rowley; how Endrew F. changed Rowley's FAPE standard; and provides a circuit-by-circuit analysis of how the courts of appeals and district courts have applied Endrew F. to date.

 

Presenters’ Biography:

Richard Marsico is Professor of Law and Director of the Impact Center for Public Interest Law at New York Law School.  He teaches Torts, Professional Responsibility, Special Education Law and Practice, the Impact Center Colloquium:  Legal Practice for Social Change, the Regulatory Advocacy Clinic, and Race, Bias, and Advocacy.  He is the author of law review articles about community reinvestment and home mortgage lending, clinical teaching, and special education,  as well as two books, Special Education Law and  Practice:  Cases and Materials (Carolina Academic Press 2017), and Democratizing Capital:  The History, Law, and Reform of the Community Reinvestment Act (Carolina Academic Press 2005). Marsico graduated from Fordham University, summa cum laude, in 1982, with majors in philosophy and history.  He was the editor-in-chief of The Ram, Fordham’s student newspaper.  He graduated from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, in 1985, where he was the executive editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.  Following law school, Marsico was a law clerk to Hon. Shirley Wohl Kram in the Southern District of New York.  He then worked as an attorney in the Bronx neighborhood office of the civil division of the Legal Aid society, where he specialized in class action litigation around housing and working with community organizers to represent tenant associations in rent strikes, repair cases, and urban homesteading efforts. Marsico served as president of the Mamaroneck Union Free District School Board and is the founder and board chair of The Charter High School for Law and Social Justice in the Bronx, New York.  He also serves as a New York State impartial hearing officer.

3.9 So You Think You Want to Hire a Lawyer? Tips for Parents to Navigate the Process and

Be Prepared

 

Presenter:

Jennifer Falter

6622 Loch Hill Road                                                                                                               

Baltimore, MD 21239 

jennfalter@yahoo.com

 

Intended Audience:

Novice/Intermediate

Parent

 

Brief Session Description:

This presentation will not offer legal advice on any specific matters or scenarios but rather is intended to provide a very broad overview of the process from a lawyer’s perspective of how lawyers help in the special education process.  The presentation explains the procedural or legal requirements and tips for parents to be as prepared as possible throughout the process.

 

Presenters’ Biography:

Jennifer A. Falter, Esquire was admitted to the Maryland bar in June, 1996.  In January, 2008, she joined the Law Offices of Mark B. Martin. P.A.  Jennifer has provided legal services in the areas of special education law, disability rights (504 & ADA), guardianships, school discipline and juvenile delinquency matters for clients throughout the State of Maryland.  She served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Robert L. Karwacki at the Court of Appeals of Maryland and she worked as a special staff attorney for the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.