Education Law

School Discipline 


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The Firm represents students who are accused of misconduct by their school and advises them through the disciplinary proceedings. The Firm has represented students accused of wrongdoing at all levels of education:

  • Preschool
  • Elementary School
  • High School
  • College and University
  • Graduate/professional School

We also represent victims of student misconduct, in particular sexual assault, in university proceedings. We seek to prepare and support them through what can be a difficult process.

Initially, some parents and students initially wonder, “Do we really need an attorney for this?”  Our clients in this practice area have never raised that question with us after retaining us.

Given the high stakes of one’s academic career, any student facing academic discipline benefits from having an advocate who understands:

  • The unique features of university disciplinary systems.
  • The pitfalls that accused students often fall into.
  • The most effective ways to present a student's case in school disciplinary hearings.
  • The most successful ways to appeal an adverse decision.

In our experience, the most common mistakes are made early on in the school’s disciplinary process, typically in the student’s first response to the accusation.

For that reason, we strongly encourage students to confer with knowledgeable, experienced counsel as soon as possible. To make that easier, Ekstrand & Ekstrand established a low-cost consultation for students facing disciplinary proceedings. If you are facing disciplinary proceedings in a college, university, or high school, and would like to schedule a consultation, please contact us.

*We aim to schedule this consultation within 24 hours of your call.*

We are one of the only firms in the Triangle with this kind of Education Law experience, particularly in advising students facing university discipline. For over a decade, the Firm’s early involvement has enabled students to:

  • Minimize the impact of the proceedings on their academic record
  • Avoid separation from the university, or
  • Avoid disciplinary proceedings altogether.

Our success in these proceedings is typically the kind that nobody hears about. We value our client’s privacy and work hard to achieve the best result without taking action in court, which becomes public.