Five Education Law Attorneys Join Bond’s Melville Office
January 8, 2024
(Melville, NY): Bond, Schoeneck & King is pleased to announce that five highly accomplished education law attorneys will join Bond’s Melville office. The attorneys, formerly with Lamb & Barnosky, possess a record of successful representation in the education practice area and will make Bond one of the largest and most experienced school law firms on Long Island. Among other areas, the new attorneys bring experience in special education law and advocacy; Title IX compliance; litigation; education policy and governance; student rights and discipline; construction issues and energy performance contracts.
Brian Butler, chair of Bond’s management committee, commented “the addition of these attorneys marks a significant step forward in the firm’s growth strategy on Long Island to provide comprehensive legal services to educational institutions and public sector clients.”
According to Craig Olivo, co-managing member of the Melville office, “Adding attorneys with this level of experience enhances Bond’s robust school law practice. We have worked closely with these attorneys while at Lamb and Barnosky. They are all highly regarded in the legal sector and education industry.”
Howard Miller, deputy managing member of the firm’s Garden City office adds, “These new attorneys bring extensive experience advocating for educational equity and excellence. Their dedication to education law aligns seamlessly with our firm’s commitment to our clients.”
The firm’s School Law practice co-chairs, Candace Gomez and Kate Reid, are pleased that Bond continues to build its education practice in both the Long Island and downstate New York regions.
Joining the firm are:
Eugene R. Barnosky focuses his practice on municipal, education and labor matters and works extensively for school district and BOCES clients. He is a frequent lecturer for the Suffolk and Nassau County Academies of Law. For over 20 years, Barnosky has provided key presentations on a wide variety of education law topics at virtually every Pre-Convention Law Conference of the New York State School Boards Association. He is past president of the New York State Association of School Attorneys and past Chair of the Education Law and Municipal Law Committees of the Suffolk County Bar Association. His articles on education law have been published in the New York Law Journal and Newsday. Barnosky’s most recent articles in the New York Law Journal analyzed a 2022 Supreme Court decision regarding First Amendment rights in schools and a 2021 Supreme Court decision concerning discipline of students for off-campus conduct. He received his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Colgate University.
Robert H. Cohen concentrates his practice on education, library and municipal law. He is a past president of the New York State Association of School Attorneys and a past co-chair of the Suffolk County Bar Association’s Education Law Committee. Cohen has lectured extensively on all topics of general education law, including special education, board governance and construction issues. He is a graduate of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University where he received his J.D. and was a member of the Law Review, and his B.A. in Psychology, magna cum laude, from Hofstra University.
Lindsay T. Crocker focuses her practice on education and municipal law and serves as general and labor counsel to school districts and municipal clients. She provides daily guidance to clients on a wide range of subjects, including data security and privacy, procurement policies, student and employee discipline, compliance with laws and policies related to harassment and bullying, the Freedom of Information Law, the Open Meetings Law and contracting with third-party providers. In addition, among other things, Crocker represents public and private sector clients in matters relating to construction and energy performance agreements, including negotiating and drafting contracts, preparing bids and analyzing bid-related disputes, performance bonds and insurance documentation. Crocker has lectured on a variety of education issues at conferences sponsored by the Suffolk Academy of Law, the New York State Association of School Attorneys, and the New York State School Boards Association. She received her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Colgate University.
Mara N. Harvey practices in school law, labor and employment, and municipal law. She has represented school district and BOCES clients in matters involving a wide variety of general counsel matters, including student disciplinary proceedings, residency, homeless students, policy review, appeals to the Commissioner of Education, third party vendor contracts, student records and student name change orders. She works closely with district clerks and administration providing day to day guidance and counsel on all issues involving school budgets, elections, board agendas and minutes, public notices and compliance with the Open Meetings Law, Freedom of Information Law and the Dignity for All Students Act. She is a member of the Education Law Committees of the Suffolk County Bar Association and Nassau County Bar Association and is a past co-chair of the committee at the Suffolk County Bar Association. Harvey has lectured on education law issues at conferences including ones sponsored by the Nassau and Suffolk Academies of Law, as well as the New York State Association of School Attorneys, the Long Island Attendance Professionals and Teachers Association, and NBI, Inc. She received her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law and her B.S in accounting from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
Lauren Schnitzer concentrates her practice on education, labor and municipal law and civil litigation. She serves as general, special education and labor counsel for school districts, BOCES and other entities. Her experience includes representing school districts in special education impartial hearings, including in appeals to the New York State Review Officer and in federal court. She also represents clients before the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights; U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; New York State Education Department; and the New York State Division of Human Rights. Schnitzer has lectured on a variety of education law topics at programs sponsored by the Nassau, Suffolk and Queens County Bar Associations, the National Business Institute and the New York Association of School Psychologists and has authored articles on education and municipal law topics for the Nassau Lawyer, the Suffolk Lawyer and On Board, a publication of the New York State School Boards Association. She received her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and her B.S. and B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC is an Am Law 200 law firm with more than 300 lawyers serving individuals, companies, nonprofits and public sector entities in a broad range of practice areas. Bond has 16 offices, including 11 in New York State, as well as in Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Kansas.
