Legal Brief
Getting the Most Out of Your School Attorney
By SARA G. BOUCEK/School Administrator, August 2020

HEARD ANY GOOD LAWYER jokes lately? I bet you all have at least two or three you love to tell, and those of us who work as school attorneys love to joke and laugh with you, usually at our expense … and yours too. Get it? Hah, even a school attorney can be funny.

In all seriousness, the school district/legal counsel relationship is one of the most important business decisions a board of education and the superintendent can make.

During my 12 years as general counsel of the Illinois Association of School Administrators, so many superintendents would call and ask the following questions: How do we hire the school attorneys? What should we expect from them? What are we looking for in a school attorney? Or they would say the following: I am scared to ask the question to our school district attorney. I don’t want to look stupid in front of the attorney. I feel like I was reprimanded by the attorney.

The reply always would be the same in my best Vanilla Ice sing-song voice: Stop, Collaborate and Listen.

First and foremost, the attorney works for the district, not the other way around. Throughout the years, many administrators have shared frustrations that it felt the opposite. That is when you know the relationship needs to be reevaluated — not necessarily changed, but perhaps reimagined.

A Comfortable Fit

What does the school district/school attorney relationship look like in the 21st century? For lack of a better way to say it — how does the school district receive the biggest bang for the buck?

The answer lies in the relationship and fit. When looking for the right firm, the mission, purpose and fit must match between district representatives and attorneys at the firm. Above all else, relationships matter. It is imperative to find the right fit so that the firm and its attorneys complement the district’s priorities.

Next, look for an attorney who can and will be a proactive thought partner with you to implement the goals of your board of education and the district.

The first question from the attorney when you call should always be: What do you, as the district leader, want to do and how would you like to do it? While the attorney may have the legal expertise, you are the schools’ expert and must manage the political realities of implementing any decision and/or living with the outcome.

An effective thought partner will find solutions collaboratively while fleshing out the legal issues and pitfalls along the way to minimize risk exposure and litigation.

Herein lies the most important reality of the school district’s relationship with its school attorney. It is the superintendent’s job to set the district’s priorities, and it is the attorney’s job to help make those priorities a reality, preferably while keeping you and your staff out of orange jumpsuits. Even the best school attorneys are still no match for the expertise that superintendents and school boards have when it comes to deciding what is best for your students, staff and community.
If your attorney doesn’t understand your goals and doesn’t share your passion for making them reality, then the attorney can’t help you navigate the legal landscape to reach those goals.

A Thought Partner
That brings us back to the original question: How do you get the most out of your school attorney? The fundamental answer is to en-sure your school attorney is a thought partner for you and your district — not just an attorney who happens to work with schools, but a school-minded person who focuses on legal issues and understands the political landscape. You already have administrators who focus on student issues, on finance issues and on facilities issues. The more those administrators all share a commitment to promote and implement the school district’s priorities, the better they will thrive as a team.

If your school attorney understands and values those same goals and priorities and can help navigate the political realities in implementation, that attorney will fit seamlessly into your team and bring the most value to your school district.