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Ethical Issues in Education Law

1h 33m

Created on August 17, 2017

Intermediate

Overview

Education Law is much more expansive than many people know, and education lawyers may handle a wide variety of types of work, each raising different ethical concerns. For example, representing schools and school districts is similar to representing a corporation, but with taxpayers instead of shareholders—and children, parents, and communities are added into the mix. Given these complications, the ethical considerations facing school or school board practitioners are significant, as are those faced by attorneys representing collective bargaining associations. With an institutional client, questions may arise about who the precise client actually is. For attorneys representing students and parents, the issue is even more complex.

When representing a student in a matter against a school or school district, whether special education, bullying, or discipline, the question of who the client is may arise. Is it the student, most frequently a minor and potentially of diminished capacity, or is it the parent, who has retained the attorney and is paying the bill?

This program will discuss common conflicts of interests, including “who is the client, and who was the client,” handling current conflicts with the attorney and school or school district, conflicts due to prior representation, or conflicts with another practitioner in the firm. While waivers of conflicts are available in some states, some prohibit waivers when a public entity is involved, so this distinction is crucial for education attorneys to know.

The program, taught by Joanne L. Butler, a Partner at Schenk, Price, Smith & King LLP, will also cover communications and the requirement of candor in a digital age where communications are not limited to the school day and instant messaging allows emotions to run high. This kind of messaging also implicates the importance of client confidentiality, which can be difficult to ensure in a digital medium. 


Learning Objectives: 

  1. Identify the types of conflicts of interests that may arise in different areas of education law
  2. Assess who your client is, and how this may affect their representation
  3. Understand how digital media affects the requirements of candor and confidentiality


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