- Litigation
- Appeals
- Insurance defense
Our firm is dedicated to representing public school districts in litigation areas such as employment law, student matters, governance, policy, special education, construction, and our experience with litigation is abundant. We also represent other private and public entities in employment, civil rights, and tort matters. Entities that use our preventive law philosophy can often avoid lawsuits. But when litigation is imminent, our firm is as comfortable and confident before an administrative law judge at TEA as we are in the courts.
We have a strong litigation background and attorneys have appeared successfully before every federal district court in Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. We have successfully represented schools in Texas state courts from municipal courts through the Texas Supreme Court. We have over 50 published opinions. Our lawyers have argued and won cases on appeal in both state and federal courts, including the Texas and United States Supreme Courts. Many of our appellate cases have helped to define laws or establish practices that are favorable to schools and other governmental entities. Dennis Eichelbaum, himself, has won before both the United States and Texas Supreme Courts. One of the firm’s most notable decisions is Jett v. Dallas Independent School District, 491 U.S. 701 (1989), a benchmark win for public institutions.
The explosion of state and federal laws and regulations inevitably leads to more civil rights litigation, especially involving students as plaintiffs. Our firm has won major federal appellate cases and state Supreme Court cases that assist governmental entities in defending against liability: Travis Cent. Appraisal Dist. v. Norman; Mission Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Garcia; Lamesa Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Booe; Barrow v. Greenville Indep. Sch. Dist.; Doe ex rel. Doe v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., Doe v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., and Doe v. Hillsboro Indep. Sch. Dist..
We’re proud of our contributions to the defense of school districts, and that two of our cases, Leffall v. Dallas Independent School District and Johnson v. Dallas Independent School District are cited by other school law practitioners and judges in almost every Section 1983 “deliberate indifference” case in the Texas federal courts today.
Our lawyers are experienced at drafting clear and persuasive briefs for our clients, and we also work on amicus curiae briefs for associations with an interest in appeals that we are not directly handling. Our lawyers are also excellent advocates when cases are argued before appellate courts.
We are proud of our record representing public entities in litigation received on assignment from many prominent insurance carriers. Whether the attorney handled the case from inception of the matter or it is transferred to our firm by the insurance company, our experience and skills will provide the client with a proper, aggressive, ethical, and effective defense.
Our firm is on the approved panel for several insurance companies including: Texas Association of School Boards Property Casualty, AIG, ITT Hartford Insurance Company, Property Casualty Alliance of Texas, Public Educators Association of Texas, Texas Association of Public Schools, Texas Municipal League, and Trident. There are occasions when a client can request that our firm be assigned to handle the matter through a company not listed here. Please contact our Firm Administrator for more information.
