Life has a funny way of leading you to your calling. I became a lawyer to help bridge the cavernous communication gap between computer-based technologists, business teams and legal teams. As in-house counsel, my legal work covered patent, trademark, copyright, contract, jurisdictional issues, and transactional negotiations.
Fast forward to being mom. A rare medical disorder inherited by my children became the cause of hundreds of medical appointments, tests, and corresponding school absences as their symptoms developed. To manage the medical needs, keep the kids on track with their schoolwork, and to stay on the right side of truancy and other educational laws, I was forced to secure legally enforceable protections for my family. These protections require working several levels of federal, state, and local law, including complex Federal laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and HIPAA Privacy Rules, which each affect how we communicate and what we decide. And the work involves many people, including parents, therapists, doctors, school educators, school nurses, school intervention specialists, and school administrators. My understanding of how all these laws interact to assure my children's right to a free appropriate public education was critical in getting everything working smoothly.
My education includes degrees from Hunter College High School in New York City; the University of Chicago; and the Illinois Institute of Technology / Chicago-Kent School of Law. My work experience includes educational consulting, corporate law and administration; computer technology user interface design, system implementation, system training, and programming; macro- and micro- economic research and analysis; and marketing communications.
My life experience as a mother, community and church volunteer has sharpened my focus on the unique gifts of each child, including the challenges they face in large institutions (like schools) that have standardized expectations. Sometimes those institutional expectations get in the way of a child's education. These are the times when you need a "Mama Lion licensed to practice Law." That would be me.
Fast forward to being mom. A rare medical disorder inherited by my children became the cause of hundreds of medical appointments, tests, and corresponding school absences as their symptoms developed. To manage the medical needs, keep the kids on track with their schoolwork, and to stay on the right side of truancy and other educational laws, I was forced to secure legally enforceable protections for my family. These protections require working several levels of federal, state, and local law, including complex Federal laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and HIPAA Privacy Rules, which each affect how we communicate and what we decide. And the work involves many people, including parents, therapists, doctors, school educators, school nurses, school intervention specialists, and school administrators. My understanding of how all these laws interact to assure my children's right to a free appropriate public education was critical in getting everything working smoothly.
My education includes degrees from Hunter College High School in New York City; the University of Chicago; and the Illinois Institute of Technology / Chicago-Kent School of Law. My work experience includes educational consulting, corporate law and administration; computer technology user interface design, system implementation, system training, and programming; macro- and micro- economic research and analysis; and marketing communications.
My life experience as a mother, community and church volunteer has sharpened my focus on the unique gifts of each child, including the challenges they face in large institutions (like schools) that have standardized expectations. Sometimes those institutional expectations get in the way of a child's education. These are the times when you need a "Mama Lion licensed to practice Law." That would be me.