Benesch's School Law Group recognizes the needs of public, independent and non-traditional schools in Ohio for effective, efficient and customized legal counsel. Our firm develops strong relationships with school administrators and school board members in order to truly understand their needs and the culture that drives those needs to become an integral part of each client’s “management team.”
Because no two school districts are alike, the legal counsel we provide to our school clients is not a cookie-cutter approach. Instead, our attorneys help clients balance the needs of the school community while keeping our school clients on solid legal footing. We knowledgeably address the diverse and complex issues our clients face within the unique cultural framework of each school.
Our School Law clients include public, independent and non-traditional school clients, such as local, city and exempted village school districts, multi-county educational service centers, career and technical centers, public-sponsored community schools, start-up community schools, independent schools and statewide educational associations.
We represent our school law clients on matters involving students, parents, teachers, support staff, unions, administrators, Ohio Department of Education, and taxpayers. Our extensive labor and employment experience includes handling matters related to teacher and classified employee contract negotiations; grievances and arbitrations; competitive bidding; employee non-renewal and termination proceedings; reductions in force (RIFs); wrongful termination; school administrator contracts; administrative proceedings, including EEOC, SERB and OEC proceedings; in-service training for school personnel and union organizing. We also handle a variety of finance matters including tax levies, Ohio Schools Facility Commission projects; continuing disclosure filings, election law, local, state and federal funding, and state and federal grants and tax budgets.
Benesch attorneys regularly handle matters related to special education; Ohio Board of Tax Appeals; County Board of Revision; real estate; state and federal civil litigation; intellectual property; school contracts; tuition disputes; sunshine law; public records law; territory transfers; school transportation; school construction; environmental and regulatory law; boardsmanship; ethics; and administrative law. Matters handled by our School Law Group also include evaluation and management of large scale document reviews, including email and electronic discovery, in a broad variety of litigation cases and public records requests.
Benesch attorneys have significant experience with representing community schools on matters relating to organizing matters such as sponsorship contracts, articles of incorporation, by-laws; labor and employment, including administrator’s contracts and teacher hiring; assignment of sponsor; vendor disputes; property acquisition; transportation; athletic eligibility; attorney-client privilege and special education.
The practitioners in our School Law Group have a true passion for what they do, and it shows in the effort and commitment to each and every client matter they handle.