Expertise, Experience, Commitment
Unique Expertise
K Altman Law is one of the only student defense firms in the country that combines education professionals and education attorneys to give students the most effective defense possible and the best chance for success.
Plenty of law firms will take student defense cases. But we don’t do student defense on the side. It’s our specialty. Our team has former college professors and administrators, a superintendent, K-12 teachers and administrators, and special education experts. We believe no other law firm in the country can bring the knowledge and expertise to helping clients that we can.
Successfully defending students requires specific in-depth experience with the education system. Our former educators and school administrators know the educational landscape and how to navigate it, because they’ve been on the other side working directly in it. We know higher education and K-12 education from the inside out, allowing us to get the best possible outcomes for students.
Experience Matters
Our student defense team has represented hundreds of students in different types of cases at schools all across the country. We’ve successfully fought for students in elementary schools, high schools, nursing schools, undergraduate and graduate programs, medical schools, and PhD programs, in every type of situation you can imagine, from public and private K-12 schools up to public, private, and for-profit universities. We know what works and what doesn’t because we’ve been there.
Local Attorney Versus Student Defense Firm
Local attorneys may be nearby, but may not specialize in student defense or be familiar with state and federal education laws, regulations, and customs. As a national firm, K Altman Law is not impacted by local politics. We aren’t intimidated, and we fight cases other law firms won’t take. Our national experience gives us expertise in education standards and practices across the country to hold schools accountable to laws they may not even know exist.
You could hire another law firm, and they may have excellent attorneys. But it takes more just common legal knowledge to defend students. You wouldn’t hire a taxation lawyer to handle your criminal trial. So, why hire a law firm that doesn’t specialize in student defense to handle your case? Defending students is our focus, we do it every day, and we get results for our clients. This is what we do.
Personal Commitment
Our clients come to us with their educational and professional futures on the line. They put their trust in us, and we take that very seriously. Our clients aren’t just case numbers to us. They’re individuals, and we make fighting for them and protecting their rights our personal responsibility. We know the education system: how it works well, and how it doesn’t. We do this work because justice in education is important to us, and we’re committed to helping our clients.
Why Now?
Whether you’ve just received allegations of misconduct or you’re already deep in the disciplinary process, the time get support is now. Developing a strategy to defend yourself as soon as possible is key to success. A simple mistake early in the disciplinary process can make successfully fighting accusations more difficult. You need to know your rights and hold your school accountable for respecting them from the start. Schools aren’t going to automatically judge you fairly, follow their own policies, or respect education laws. It takes in-depth experience and knowledge of school policies, procedures, and laws to fight allegations successfully. The school isn’t going to look out for you. You need an experienced advisor to do that. What you don’t know can hurt you and cost you your education. The sooner you get assistance by an education and legal advisor, the better your chances of protecting yourself and your education.
Services We Provide
Student Defense
- Assign a case manager (advisor) from our student defense team to interview you and investigate all the facts of your matter;
- Research the incident and related policies to ensure that the school followed all of the proper procedures accorded to you for due process;
- Engage in strategy discussions about the best course(s) of action to take on your behalf;
- Manage all communications between you and the school;
- Draft any and all available appeals on your behalf;
- Support you through any scheduled hearings by training you to answer questions and help you prepare opening and closing statements;
- Appear with you (remotely) at all hearings as allowed by school rules;
- If there are no additional appeals available or we have exhausted all available appeals, the firm will write a letter to the school’s attorney outlining our concerns. Attorney Altman (or another firm attorney) will then schedule a call with the school’s attorney and advocate for a favorable resolution.
SPED
- Conduct a full documentation review of current educational records and pertinent medical information.
- Interpret evaluation data and making professional recommendations to the school-based team regarding current gaps in services/programming and instructional best practices to address your child’s individualized needs, including the current concern for recognizing the ASD diagnosis.
- Request the development of a Behavior Intervention Plan to address ongoing behaviors through the completion of a Functional Behavior Assessment.
- Attend your IEP meeting with you remotely to negotiate an appropriate educational plan for your child to be placed in the least restrictive environment with reasonable supports.
- Review subsequent documents relating to the IEP and Prior Written Notice to ensure they accurately reflect the discussion and decisions made in the meeting.
- Advocate for you and support you at any Manifestation Determination meetings or other meetings with school officials.
Title IX
Title IX cases require particular expertise not found in most attorneys and law firms. It is critical that you be advised by expert professionals with specific experience in Title IX cases. Our attorneys and Student Defense Advisors specialize in defending and advocating for students in Title IX matters. Our team brings in-depth and extensive knowledge of Title IX laws and regulations to ensure you will receive a fair investigation and hearing, the strongest possible representation, and the most potential for success.
- Assign a case manager (advisor) from our student defense team to interview you and investigate all the facts of your matter;
- Research the incident and related policies to ensure that the school followed all of the proper procedures accorded to you for due process;
- Engage in strategy discussions about the best course(s) of action to take on your behalf;
- Work with the school to ensure the allegations are handled according to (Federal Law) Title IX processes;
- Manage all communications between you and the school;
- Prepare you for, and attend, investigation interviews;
- Draft evidence submissions and responses to investigation reports’
- Advise you at a hearing, including hearing preparation and coaching and cross-examination of witnesses;
- Any appeals following the Title IX decision.
Benefits of a Consultation
Our attorneys will give you the best possible advice about your rights, options, and how we can help. If you decide to handle your situation on your own, our attorneys will advise you on your educational entitlements and the best way to move forward to meet your goals.
