(312) 332-7760 (tel.)
(312) 332-7768 (fax)
lsinars@rsnlt.com

Practice Area: Education Law, Special Education, Student Discipline

Laura Sinars focuses on special education and students' rights law. She counsels and represents public school districts at IEP meetings, due process hearings, mediation and student expulsion and residency hearings. Laura has defended district decisions regarding evaluations, services and placement of special education students in due process hearings. She has successfully removed dangerous students from the regular education environment and also prevailed in hearings to defend against parents' unilateral private placements. She has assisted clients in building residency and discipline cases involving students and has successfully defended districts' decisions in state and federal courts and before federal and state agencies including the Department of Education, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Office for Civil Rights.

Law & Politics Magazine selected Laura as a 2005 Illinois "Super Lawyer" in the specialized area of Schools and Education Law. Chicago Magazine published the names of the Illinois Super Lawyers in its May 2005 issue.

Education

• J.D., University of Notre Dame Law School, 1993
• B.A., University of Notre Dame, 1990

Admitted to Practice

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
• Supreme Court of Illinois

Recent Presentations

• Special Education: A Review of the Basics of Due Process, Illinois Council of School Attorneys (November 2006)
• Taking Your Medicine – Remedies from Due Process Decisions, IAASE (April 2006)
• Handling Special Education Challenges, Avoiding School Liability While Working with Students Seminar, National Business Institute (February 2006)
• Legal Issues Surrounding Technology in the Schools, Avoiding School Liability While Working with Students Seminar, National Business Institute (February 2006)
• Special Education Update: A Presentation for the Illinois Council of School Attorneys, Illinois Council of School Attorneys (November 2005)
• Protecting Illinois Special Education Students' Needs, National Business Institute Seminar (October 2005)
• IDEA Reauthorization 2004, Lorman Education Services (May 2005)