Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP - Principal Business Affiliate

Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP - Principal Business Affiliate

The Burke Education Law Group provides comprehensive legal representation and ladvice to educational institutions throughout California, including public school districts, community college districts, private/independent schools, private vocational schools, private colleges, as well as public and private universities. In serving all of education sector clients, Burke is committed to helping them fulfill their respective missions by providing strong advocacy as well as sound, practical, and effective legal advice.

We represent a wide variety of educational institutions, ranging from large urban unified school districts to smaller suburban elementary districts, from single-college community college districts to multi-college districts, as well as many other types of schools and colleges, including the University of California. We are sensitive to the unique legal issues facing each of our clients, and we are experienced in navigating the individual cultures of each institution and its various constituents: parents, community, educators, administrators, staff, board members, and most importantly, students. Burke adapts its representation and advocacy to the diverse culture and unique needs of each of our clients.

Burke Eductation areas of expertise include:

- personnel, employee discipline, layoffs, tenure, seniority, employee leave rights, discrimination, disability, and reasonable accommodation issues;
- labor relations, negotiations, grievances, and arbitrations;
- governance, participation at Board meetings, policies and procedures, shared governance, and Brown Act, Bagley-Keene Act, and Public Records Act compliance;
- litigation, in courts and administrative agencies. We advocate for the rights of our education sector clients in state and federal court, as well before various administrative agencies;
- contract review, involving a variety of goods and services; real property transactions and facilities, including purchase, lease, construction, maintenance, land use, eminent domain, zoning, environmental and school site issues;
- public bidding, compliance with the Public Contract Code and other procurement issues;
- student affairs, student discipline, student records, special education, and student services;
- school licensure and accreditation, including with BPPE, WASC and ACCJC;
- ethics and conflicts of interest; and
- charter school oversight, including advising school districts and county offices/boards of education regarding charter petition review, oversight, revocation, facilities, litigation, and legislation. We do not represent charter schools.

Burke Education Law attorneys are thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the Education Code and accompanying regulations, including Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, as well as other state and federal laws impacting schools and colleges in both the public and private sectors.

We represent school and college clients not only in state and federal court, but also before various administrative agencies, including the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (“BPPE”), the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH”), the Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”), and the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, as well as before personnel commissions and arbitrators.

We are leaders in our respective fields of expertise, partnering with and presenting frequently at statewide educational conferences offered by organizations such as the Association of California School Administrators, the California School Boards Association, and the Community College League of California. We also provide regular trainings for our clients on various issues, including personnel, labor and collective bargaining, and compliance with the Brown Act, Public Records Act, and ethics.

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