I am currently looking for a lawyer to defend my case in NYC regarding the education. To nicely settle and to make a

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When it comes to matters of discipline or assessment all that a court can review is the standards that were applied. This is called an administrative law review.

On an administrative law review the only issue the court can decide is whether or not the determination of the administrative body was arbitrary or capricious.

Schools have wide discretion in making internal determinations but must provide an internal review of their decisions under the laws of due process.

Courts cannot generally second guess the determination of the school, however, they can review the school's procedures.

As for evidence, most hearings are determined based upon pleadings and affidavits. Occasionally the court will ask for witness testimony, or alternatively will permit witnesses based upon an application of a moving party. However, this is discretionary.

The judge can choose to permit or deny witness testimony depending on his decision as to whether such testimony will be helpful in determining whether or not the school violated its due process obligation.

You are also going to have another issue:

To sue a government entity, like a public school, you generally have to first file a Notice of Claim. A Notice of Claim is an intention to prosecute a claim which includes the time, manner and particulars of a claim and the amount of damage claimed.

The school board then will have the right to investigate, hold a hearing and make a determination. If they conclude that they will not acknowledge or honor your claim then you can file a lawsuit. As you are the plaintiff you will have the burden of proof. You would have to prove your son was unfairly or uniquely targeted and/or attacked.

You may also have to deal with the issue of qualified immunity,. Generally government officials (including school officials) do not have liability for their actions done in the line of duty unless they are reckless or intentional. If they acted based upon the information they had, there would likely be no civil liability attached.

However, if their conduct targeted an individual, was intentional, or caused harm they can be sued for a civil rights violation.

You can initiate an action by buying a docket number, and filling out a summons and complaint alleging what it is that you are seeking damages for. The summons is a form. The complaint is the specific particulars of the redress you wish to seek. Once you purchase the docket number, the summons and complaint must together be served on the defendant in a manner acceptable to state law. The best way is personal service through a process server, but there may be alternative methods that are acceptable. Then you would need to file an affidavit of service explaining the time, date, manner of service (By mail, By personal service, By process server etc) The defendant would be able to put in an answer, and any affirmative defenses. After that the case is in issue, it would be assigned a judge and both sides can seek discovery.

If this is something you are considering, I would strongly recommend hiring an attorney who is an expert in education law matters. Hiring a private attorney will go a long way in giving you professional representation who can look at your case, form a strategy and forward your best legal argument, It will also serve to make the judge and parties involved take your position more seriously and give you your best chance at success

If you are seeking representation, I can help you with options.

JustAnswer is a site that is only meant to provide for general information, and guidance. While I can give general advice, or review any documentation that you prepare, or is prepared for you as a premium service attorneys on this site are not allowed to represent customers to the site or give referrals.

I understand your inquiry in finding an attorney, while I would like to help you with that directly, I cannot do so. That does not mean that I cannot give you some guidance on how to find an attorney who can represent you.

In order to find an attorney, I would recommend contacting friends or a family member for a recommendation. Or if you cannot do that you can contact the local county bar association which should have a site online.

In order, the best approach would be:

1) Seek a referral from colleagues, friends or family members who have had a successful experience with a lawyer.

2) If none is accessible you can call your county bar association or access the bar association online and request a referral for a lawyer.

3) Go online and do a legal search. There are many websites. Some solicit advertising revenue from lawyers in exchange for placement position - so you should be wary of that. Martindale.com does not. So that's a good site. Martindale displays attorneys bios and backgrounds, so it is helpful for that. But there are others: avvo.com -avvo differentiates attorneys by geography and specialty and it has a comprehensive list, lawyers.com is the largest database, findlaw.com and nolo.com provide other features like legal explanation and research. There are others as well. You can read bios and reviews.

If you are looking for pro bono lawyers your best bet is to contact legal aid or some other public service agency in your area. Justia.com and the state bar association may be able to provide guidance. Alternatively, you can contact a local law school and apply for clinical representation under the custody of law students and overseen by a law professor.

Most lawyers like to be able to pay their bills. Pro Bono cases don't pay the rent. Most attorneys do pro bono work - but it's usually the lawyer picking the cases they are willing to do for free. Not the other way around.

I hope this gives you the guidance that you need.

I hope that I was able to answer all of your questions and concerns. Is there any part of my response about which you need clarification or further information?