SPECIAL
EDUCATION ATTORNEYS AND ADVOCATES
The list of
attorneys below was sent to us by the Oregon Advocacy Center. In
addition to the lawyers on the list, OAC has attorneys and at least
one highly trained advocate. Please read the remarks at the end of
the attorney list. Names are listed alphabetically, in no order of
preference. OPU neither endorses nor attests to the effectiveness of
attorneys and advocates provided below. Readers of this list are
encouraged to notify OPU through our Webmaster of any attorneys or
professional advocates they have found to be effective with their
special education cases.
ATTORNEYS
Dave A Bahr
(EDLAW registered)
Barr and Stotter Law Offices
259 East 5th Avenue, suite 200
Eugene, OR 97401
Phone: 541-686-3277
FAX: 541-686-2137
Email: bsdave@efn.org
Steve Bogdon (Or and WA license)
105 West Evergreen Boulevard
PO Box 1148
Vancouver, WA 98666-1148
Phone: 360-693-5883
FAX: 360-693-1777
Mary
Broadhurst (EDLAW registered)
PO Box 11377
Eugene, OR 97401
Phone: 541-683-8530
Tom Coleman
1275 Yeon Building
522 SW Fifth Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
Phone: 503-226-3664
FAX: 503-226-9525
Community
Partnerships
Jill Flynn
Oregon Tech Assistance Corp.
Building 1, Suite 21
3886 Beverly Ave., NE
Salem, OR 97305
Voice: (503) 364-9943
Voice: (800) 435-8362
FAX: (503) 364-1939
Council of
Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
P.O. Box 81-7327
Hollywood, FL 33081-0327
Voice: (954) 966-4489
FAX:
(954) 966-8561
Email:
copaa@copaa.net
Web
site: http://www.copaa.net/
Denise
Jarrard
310 N. Ivy Street
PO Box 1284
Canby, OR 97013
Phone: 503-263-2791
FAX: 503-263-2792
Lee Judy
401 E. 10th Street, Suite 440
Eugene, OR 97401
Phone: 541-687-4802
FAX: 541-344-1061
Email:
leejjudy@earthlink.net
Judith Lerner
2510 Kinkaid
Eugene, OR 97405
Phone: 541-343-6093
FAX: 541-343-6140
Kem Marks
Center for Disability Rights and Education (Also, Director of the
Oregon Client Assistance Program for Vocational Rehabilitation-an
independent education and advocacy organization)
610 SW Alder, Suite 915
Portland, OR 97205
Phone: 503-721-0135
FAX: 503-916-4003
Email: ocap@teleport.com
Paul Meadowbrook
285 Liberty Street NE
Suite 360
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: 503-581-5240
FAX: 503-581-0249
Email: pbm@teleport.com
Northwest Advocacy
7923 SW Cirrus Drive
Beaverton, Oregon 97008
(503) 626-4622
E-mail:
nwadvocates@yahoo.com
Oregon Advocacy Center (Oregon's Protection and
Advocacy Organization)
Working for the Rights of Individuals with Disabilities
620 SW 5th Avenue
Fifth Floor
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-243-2081 AND 1-800-452-1694 (for beyond the Portland
Metropolitan Area)
FAX: 503-243-1738
Email: oradvocacy@aol.com
Web site:
http://oradvocacy.org/index.htm
Colleen R Storm
1685 Corina Dr SE
Salem OR 97302
503-910-5609
info@spedlawadvocate.com
www.spedlawadvocate.com
Dana R. Taylor (EDLAW
registered)
Duffy Kekel LLP
1100 SW 6th Avenue, Ste 1200
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 226-1371
Fax: (503) 226-3574
Email:
dtaylor@duffykekel.com
Lana Traynor, Esq
Lana L. Traynor, LLC
Traynor@traynorlawfirm.com
Phone:
503-223-4147
Fax: 503-727-0303
317 SW Alder
Ninth Floor
Portland, OR 97204
Diane Wiscarson, Esq
Diane Frost Wiscarson, P.C.
diane@wiscarsonlaw.com
Phone:
503-727-0202
FAx: 503-727-0303
317 SW Alder
Ninth Floor
Portland, OR 97204
Pete and
Pam Wright
c/o The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Phone: 804-257-0857
Web site:
http://www.wrightslaw.com
Email:
webmaster@wrightslaw.com
NOTE
Parents are strongly advised to use the services of attorneys
expert in the area of special education law. It is rare that a
dedicated practitioner strong in civil rights, disability rights or
employment law has sufficient background in special education law,
which is a special form of administrative law to be an effective
advocate. Do not confuse enthusiasm with competence. A good lawyer
will know what he or she does not know and should tell you this in
the first consultation. As with everything else, there are always
exceptions. If a case is badly managed by an inexperienced attorney
and there has been a decision, finding, or order, the client is not
given a second bite of the apple. A final appeal to the Oregon State
Department of Education for a review does not allow the
introduction of new evidence. Only once all administrative law
remedies have been exhausted can a client bring action in Oregon
State or US Federal District Court. Those cases are trials de novo,
which means that a case may start from the very beginning. It is not
unusual for legal fees, prior to filing of any court action, to
approach fifty thousand dollars or more. Additional legal fees for
court determination may well bring total legal fees and costs
exceeding one hundred thousand dollars.
Attorneys may not
be reimbursed by the schools for fees unless a case has gone through
a formal mediation or due process hearing and the decision is
favorable to the student (and parents). This means the school will
not pay attorney fees if the parents' lawyer participates in initial
or following evaluation or IEP meetings. Appearance of an attorney
in both instances is NOT recommended, and is contrary to the spirit
ofthe intended effect of special education law and regulations.
In Oregon this
situation may be about to change.
A very recent
(April 26, 1999) Federal Court magistrate's opinion and order in the
case of one OPU parent has buttressed parents' rights to use
attorneys to enforce the results of a state finding in their favor.
In this case, the parents' attorney collected not only his fees for
post-complaint representation on behalf of the parents in the IEP
meetings following the state order ; he collected "reasonable fees"
for all of his work leading up to the federal court's intervention.
This recent decision will force the state and the school districts
to think twice about failing to swiftly comply with administrative
law and other orders. If this federal court opinion is affirmed by
the convening US District Court Judge under whose direction the
hearing was held, districts will be penalized for deliberate
delaying actions. Parent attorney fees come straight from the local
school district's general fund, and school boards can be held
accountable by the voters for wasting their budget money on
deliberate and expensive non-compliance with the law.
Even with this
news, parents should think long and hard before engaging legal
counsel.
Most attorneys
will not accept a case on a "contingency fee" basis, because the
likelihood of adequate reimbursement for even "reasonable fees" is
often remote. Even though legal fees are awarded as a result of a
favorable finding or order, attorneys often find themselves bringing
action in Federal District Court for reimbursement under Section
1983, since many districts routinely refuse to reimburse the
attorney for fees for an administrative law hearing. This may be
unfair, but it is the reality of legal practice in the field of
special education law. [The April 26 court decision was such a
Section 1983 action.]
ADVOCATES
At the time we prepared this list, there were only a handful of
fully qualified special education parent/student advocates in
Oregon. Readers of this page are encouraged to supply us with the
names of other attorneys and professional advocates they have found
helpful, and we will periodically update the list. Many parents
advocate successfully for their own children and also advocate for
other parents and children. The best way to find such persons is
through word of mouth. It is important to remember that just as with
attorneys, advocates must have the "right chemistry" for their
client(s) to be effective. Please see the several essays on this
topic in our
How
To's page.
Professional
advocates should carry professional liability insurance to cover all
phases of their practice. Advocacy brings the professional in
contact with the family at their home, the school district
authorities through observation of the student in the educational
setting, and through formal interviews and fact-finding processes
involving school district, medical professionals, and related
service professionals of all kinds. A good advocate should
have a special education attorney available for interpretive issues,
but is not "authorized to practice law." Advocates may and do
appear on behalf of the student and parents in mediations and due
process hearings, but such involvement is best left to attorneys
because school district attorneys will oppose them. In jurisdictions
other than Oregon, advocates have shown considerable skill in
holding their own at such administrative law hearings.
A professional
advocate's services are not free. Fee structures vary, but it is not
unusual for advocates to charge as much as $75 to $125 per hour for
their service beyond the initial free consultation. Despite what
appears to be en expensive fee structure, some advocates may do a
considerable amount of their work at a reduced rate, or for no
charge. Parents should consider their time consulting a professional
as an investment in their child. A good advocate has the
professional obligation to educate the client, and not to foster
dependency or learned helplessness.
The following
professional advocates practice special education parent/student
advocacy in Oregon. This means their interest is one hundred percent
that of their client(s) because parents have engaged their services.
Conflict of interest can arise when an advocate is provided the
parents and/or student by the schools at public expense. In these
instances, the contract and primary obligation of the advocate may
remain the interest of the school or school district. If the
district contracts with an advocate, parents should spend time
determining the advocate's actual capacity to represent their
interests.
Joni Anderson
Advocate/Consultant/Evaluator
14407 SW Teal Blvd. #D
Beaverton, OR 97008
Phone:
(503) 524-9420
E-mail: purpleslp@msn.com
Provides assistance for parents and students to navigate an IEP in
educational settings and provide consultations and evaluations for
academic, and speech/language disabilities.
Bridges Advocacy and Outreach Center
Julie Miles & LeeAnn MacDonald
P.O. Box 371
Bandon, OR 97411
Phone:
(541) 297-7328; (541) 297-5542
E-mail:
julie@bridges-advocacy.org or
leeann@bridges-advocacy.org
Web:
www.bridges-advocacy.org
We are a non-profit foundation created to empower families of
children with special needs to effectively advocate for quality
services and education.
Roger Meyer
"Of a Different Mind"
607 SE 76th Avenue
Portland, OR 97215-2238
Phone: 503-666-2776
Email:
rogernmeyer@earthlink.net
Cynthia Payne
Advocacy Resources
617 SW Murray Boulevard
Number 180
Beaverton, OR 97008
Phone: 503-591-1813
Email: CAPay@aol.com
Colleen
Storm - Special Education Advocate
1685 Corina Dr SE
Salem, OR 97302
503-910-5609 office
503-362-4582 home
for_thomas_2000@yahoo.com
Lucinda ("Cindy") Waddell
21745 SE Royal Anne Drive
Amity, OR 97101
Phone: 503-835-1004
Carol Walnum Educational Services
2135 NE 44th Avenue
Portland, OR 97213
(503) 287-1526
E-mail:
educationaladvocacy@hevanet.com
Web:
www.helpingkidslearn.org
Advocacy, Assessment Referral, Intervention, IEP Development for
children and parents needing support. Strengths include helping
children receive proper assessment, creating options for them within
the school systems, and implementing an appropriate education plan
well. Call or click on website for more information.
Vicki
Williams MSED
vwilliams_msed@yahoo.com
503-525-1080
FAX: 503-735-1995
Portland, OR 97215
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