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Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Announces “We Are Growing”

 

Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP is delighted to announce that we are expanding our litigation, labor & employment, and corporate practice areas. The successful expansion of these practice areas comes with the ability to add new associate attorneys to the MHTL team and work on expanding even more. MHTL is pleased to welcome our newest associate attorneys, Madison Harris-Parks and Brett Cavanaugh.

 

Madison Harris-Parks graduated cum laude from Boston University School of Law in May 2021, and joined the firm in the fall of 2022. Prior to joining MHTL, Ms. Harris-Parks clerked for Justice Robert Brennan of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. As a law clerk, she also had the opportunity to work with the Appeals Court Clerk’s Office and multiple Justices handling petitions brought through the Court’s single justice practice. During law school, Ms. Harris-Parks gained valuable litigation experience while interning with the Solicitor’s Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Trial Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and the Housing Division of Harvard’s Legal Services Center. She served as a Managing Editor of BU Law’s Public Interest Law Journal, a Fellow for BU Law’s first-year writing program, and a research assistant. Prior to law school, Ms. Harris-Parks graduated from the University of Florida with Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Sociology. Ms. Harris-Parks is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She will be working primarily in MHTL’s expanding labor & employment and litigation practice areas.

 

Brett R. Cavanaugh graduated cum laude from Boston College Law School in May 2022, and also joined MHTL in the fall of 2022. Prior to law school, Mr. Cavanaugh received both his Bachelor of Arts and his Master of Education from the University of Notre Dame, and worked in education for the following six years, including four years as a middle school math and social studies teacher. During law school, Mr. Cavanaugh was a legal intern with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and worked as a summer law clerk at a labor and employment firm in Boston. He also provided legal and business training to aspiring entrepreneurs through a clinic serving formerly incarcerated individuals. In addition, he interned with the Boston College Athletic Department where he assisted with compliance matters, and he gained in-house counsel experience at Spartan Race in Boston. Moreover, he served as the president of the St. Thomas More Society and provided legal services at a detention center in Karnes City, Texas during the spring. Given his first-hand experience in education, Mr. Cavanaugh’s practice will focus primarily in the education and special education practice areas, as well as labor and employment.

Latest News

United States Supreme Court Opens the Door for Special Education Students’ Right to Bypass Due Process Hearings When Also Suing School District for Money Damages Under ADA: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. ___(2023)

In a unanimous ruling issued on March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of a 27-year-old deaf student who sued his Michigan school district, claiming he was denied the services of a qualified interpreter for years, and was misled by teachers and administrators about his progress in school. The student, Miguel Perez, only sought monetary damages. The Court held that he was free to sue the district for money damages due to discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court found that he did not have to “exhaust his administrative remedies,” prior to bringing such an action for damages. The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies in a case involving the rights of a disabled student requires a litigant to file and complete a due process hearing before an agency like the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) on all claims stemming from a school district's requirement to provide a student with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Legal Updates

United States Supreme Court Opens the Door for Special Education Students’ Right to Bypass Due Process Hearings When Also Suing School District for Money Damages Under ADA: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. ___(2023)

In a unanimous ruling issued on March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of a 27-year-old deaf student who sued his Michigan school district, claiming he was denied the services of a qualified interpreter for years, and was misled by teachers and administrators about his progress in school. The student, Miguel Perez, only sought monetary damages. The Court held that he was free to sue the district for money damages due to discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court found that he did not have to “exhaust his administrative remedies,” prior to bringing such an action for damages. The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies in a case involving the rights of a disabled student requires a litigant to file and complete a due process hearing before an agency like the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) on all claims stemming from a school district's requirement to provide a student with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

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