Michael (Mike) Smith, Partner
Mike Smith is a Partner who joined Cedar Law in 2021, but has been practicing law – the vast majority of which is in the education realm – for over 20 years. Upon relocating to Washington, he jumped at the chance to continue a practice dedicated to serving and supporting children, families and others in the education and school settings, as Mike has previously served as in-house counsel for the Oakland Unified School District (“OUSD”) in California for 14 years. Mike’s prior and recent work has provided significant experience in myriad areas of school law so that he is able to effectively advocate for the needs of children, students and families in all education settings.
Examples of Mike’s representation of clients while at Cedar Law includes:
Securing significant monetary compensation for children and others who were harmed by sexual and other abuse caused by school staff or other students.
Holding schools and school districts accountable for the harassment, intimidation and bullying of child clients by other students or personnel, including based on young clients’ gender identity, sex, race, national origin and disabilities.
Engaging with private and public K-12 schools, as well as colleges, universities and graduate programs, to mitigate or rectify erroneous disciplinary action, findings, and records of student clients.
Litigating Public Records Act matters when public entities fail to comply with their statutory obligations.
Advising on contractual matters between parents and private schools.
Addressing proposed or actual adverse employment actions improperly leveled against higher education employees.
Although Mike worked as a Senior Deputy City Attorney with the City of Oakland, CA for two years immediately before joining Cedar Law, his years of service as an in-house attorney with OUSD, a large urban school district, required him to provide advice and counsel to school district leadership and staff at all levels on personal injury and wrongful death claims, litigation, employment, contracting, open meetings law, public records requests, conflict of interest and other matters. Because of his background, Mike brings valuable insight to how school districts and other entities may evaluate a client’s case, whether it is a personal injury claim for a child, the discipline of a student, or some other education-related matter.