Bios and presentation abstracts
Bob Krakow, Esq.
Bob is an experienced and accomplished trial lawyer and is the principal in his own firm that he created in 1989. He specializes in representing people exposed to environmental toxins and vaccine injury. He represented many individuals in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. Bob is a co-founder of EBCALA and is also a founding board member of A-CHAMP, now known as the Autism Action Network, and is a past chairman of the board of Lifespire, Inc., a not-for-profit that supports more than 6,000 developmentally disabled adults and children.
Introduction to Law Day
Bob will summarize the mission of EBCALA to address the immediate and ongoing legal and advocacy needs of the autism community and will explain how, since its inception, EBCALA has taken the lead in these areas: (1) Legal Education: EBCALA has convened three conferences in Illinois & New York, granting CLE credit, to lawyers on autism-related law; (2) Legal Advocacy: EBCALA has filed three amicus briefs in autism-related cases on behalf of the broader autism community in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (EBCALA filed the first ever amicus brief for a case that originated in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which has existed over 20 years); (3) Public Advocacy: EBCALA has advanced many advocacy efforts for the autism community and fair media coverage of the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. Board members Mary Holland and Louis Conte appeared on CBS and Fox News in 2010 and 2011 to discuss autism. Several board members wrote articles for the Autism File magazine and the Age of Autism blog about critical issues facing the autism community; & (4) The VICP Justice Project: EBCALA has spearheaded a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Justice Project with Pace Law School, a study of federally compensated vaccine injury claims.
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Lisa Colin, Esq.
Lisa, a partner in Martin & Colin PC located in White Plains, New York, sits on the Board of Directors for EBCALA and the Board of Directors for the Westchester Law Guardian Association. She is a co-founding member of Autism Action New York and an active member of Autism Action Network. She organized an EBCALA CLE event at Pace Law School, NY and has played a pivotal role in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Justice Project. Along with her husband and business partner, she was a former radio host at a local New York station.
Family Law and Autism
Lisa will train attendees how to maneuver the constant legal hurdles and pitfalls that result from certain parenting decisions. Parenting a child with autism is challenging enough without spouses, ex-spouses, school districts, child protective services and the courts questioning a parents’ decisions. When is it legal for parenting decisions to be challenged? What can the parent do in the legal system if child protective services knocks at the door? This presentation will explore issues parents and counsel should be prepared to address in their practice and everyday lives.
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Jodi Bouer, Esq.
Jodi is the principal in her own practice that focuses on helping ASD individuals and their providers obtain insurance coverage for therapies. She has extensive insurance law experience as former counsel at an insurance company and at major law firms. She has taught insurance law at Seton Hall Law School. She helps clients understand how insurers assess coverage obligations and how to present their claims most effectively with their policies. Her firm helps clients prepare and submit claims and appeals, negotiate settlements, and obtain court orders requiring insurers to honor their coverage obligations.
Insurance Law and Autism
Jodi is the principal in her own practice that focuses on helping ASD individuals and their providers obtain insurance coverage for therapies. She has extensive insurance law experience as former counsel at an insurance company and at major law firms. She has taught insurance law at Seton Hall Law School. She helps clients understand how insurers assess coverage obligations and how to present their claims most effectively with their policies. Her firm helps clients prepare and submit claims and appeals, negotiate settlements, and obtain court orders requiring insurers to honor their coverage obligations.
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Tim Adams, Esq.
Tim has served as an adjunct professor and Associate Director of the Special Education Advocacy Clinic, Pepperdine University School of Law. He is actively involved in educating parents on special ed law, including Autism One (2005-2011), the National Autism Association (2005, 2007-2009), the National Epilepsy Foundation Annual Conference (2001) and Talk About Curing Autism (TACA). He has trained Orange County Superior Court Judges regarding special education law. He is Adams & Associates’ Chief Executive Officer.
Jennifer Keefe, Esq.
Jennifer is a trial lawyer for a major national law firm and has been nominated by her peers six years in a row as one of Texas’ Rising Stars in Texas Monthly Magazine. She attended Vanderbilt University and Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. She assists clients in a wide range of business litigation. Jennifer has received several awards for her pro bono work and serves on the Board of EBCALA. She also leads a parent support group in Dallas named Warrior Parents of Dallas.
Special Education and Autism: Advanced Cases Studies
Tim and Jennifer will discuss advanced special education cases for the experienced practitioner. Specifically, they will address whether there is recourse if your special needs child is injured at school from a wrongful restraint or seclusion. State and federal laws do not fully protect parents in this area. Tim will also discuss some high profile autism cases he has handled and how practitioners can learn from his experience to best advocate for their clients.
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Jim Turner, Esq.
FDA, EPA, FTC, and NIH. Jim has served as special counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Food, Nutrition, and Health and to the Senate Gov’t Operations Subcommittee on Gov’t Research. He has also been a policy consultant to major corporations in the food & pharmaceutical industries. Recently Jim was the lead attorney on a successful petition to the FDA to reclassify acupuncture needles from Class III to Class II medical devices, permitting their legal importation and distribution.
Kim Mack Rosenberg, Esq.
Kim is a litigator at a major New York City-based law firm, where her practice focuses on products liability, class actions, insurance coverage and general civil litigation. In 2009 she was recognized by the Legal Aid Society for her pro bono service. In addition to being a on the board of EBCALA and the Center for Personal Rights, Kim is the President of the National Autism Association NY Metro Chapter. She is also a contributing editor of Vaccine Epidemic.
Mary Holland, Esq.
Mary is a board member of the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy and the Center for Personal Rights. She is a Research Scholar at NYU Law School and previously practiced at major international law firms and worked for an international human rights organization. She researches and writes on legal issues related to autism and to vaccination and is the Legal Editor for the Autism File magazine.
MORNING KEYNOTE: Human Rights and Autism: Authors of Vaccine Epidemic
Co-editors and contributing authors to the recent book, Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health and Our Children, will address its central premise, that vaccination choice is a fundamental human right. They focus on this legal premise’s implications for the autism community. Autism is inextricably linked to vaccination; peer-reviewed science has shown an association between autism and early vaccine exposures in certain individuals (Goodman and Gallagher and other scientific studies cited in the book). As detailed in the book, Holland will discuss the big picture and vaccine injury compensation; Habakus will focus on the human right to health and advice to parents; Turner will examine the due process the U.S. Constitution requires for vaccination mandates; and Mack Rosenberg will review the charges of parental “medical neglect” and child removal for parents who refuse vaccination and pursue biomedical interventions unaccepted by orthodox medicine.
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John Elder Robison
John Elder Robison is the author of New York Times best-selling book Look Me in the Eye, My life with Asperger’s, published in 17 editions that are sold in over 60 countries. John’s next book, Be Different, goes on sale in March 2011. He is also the subject of a series on the Discovery Science Channel, "Ingenious Minds," airing February 24, 2011. John is a free range Aspergian male who grew up in the 1960s before the Asperger diagnosis came into common use. After dropping out of high school, John worked in the music business where he created sound effects and electronic devices, including the signature illuminated, smoking, and rocket firing guitars he built for KISS. Later John worked on some of the first video games and talking toys at Milton Bradley. After a 10 year career in electronics, John founded Robison Service, a specialty automobile company in Springfield, Massachusetts. Robison Service has grown to be one of the largest independent restoration and service specialists for high end cars. John serves as an adjunct faculty in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elms College. He also serves on boards for INSAR, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Mental Health and Autism Speaks. John is involved in TMS autism research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and serves on the advisory board for Mass General Hospital’s YouthCare program.
AFTERNOON KEYNOTE: Protecting our Children from Criminal Prosecution Resulting from Manifestations of ASD
There is a crisis in the mental health field regarding treatment of ASD teenagers and adults when manifestations of their disorder are misunderstood by law enforcement as criminal behavior. An example of what is becoming far too common for ASD individuals was highlighted in the New York Times best-selling novel, House Rules by Jodi Picoult, where an Asperger’s teenager is put on trial for a murder he did not commit. John has a personal, harrowing story that he will use to train the audience on how to work on preventing criminal prosecution from occurring. John’s own son has Asperger’s, and he has a number of special interests that he concentrates on really deeply, like most Asperger’s teenagers do. One of those interests is chemistry. When his son was 16, he became interested in explosives, and he put videos of his experiments on YouTube. As a result, John’s home was raided by the ATF and then his son was prosecuted by the local district attorney on a number of serious felony counts. That story - culminating in a week long federal jury trial and his victory - is the basis for his third book, Raising Cubby, due out in 2012. Raising Cubby speaks to every parent's worst nightmare: that their child will get interested in something a bit out of the ordinary, run afoul of the law, and then be prosecuted by a morally bankrupt public official seeking to make a name for herself on the back of an innocent kid with autism; a kid who could not know any better and who did no harm. John is in the process of selling the movie rights to his book, Raising Cubby.
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Jennifer Keefe, Esq.
Jennifer is a trial lawyer for a major national law firm and has been nominated by her peers six years in a row as one of Texas’ Rising Stars in Texas Monthly Magazine. She attended Vanderbilt University and Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. She assists clients in a wide range of business litigation. Jennifer has received several awards for her pro bono work and serves on the Board of EBCALA. She also leads a parent support group in Dallas aptly named Warrior Parents of Dallas.
Autism, Federal and State Case Law Update
Jennifer will provide a full summary of published state and federal cases relating to autism from June 2010 through May 2011. The subject matters covered will include civil and criminal litigation and medical, educational and custodial issues involved in autism. She will discuss how to advocate most effectively for parents’ rights based on this new case law.
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Collyn Peddie, Esq.
Collyn is the principal of her own firm in Houston, Texas, focusing on appeals and legal strategy in pharmaceutical, medical device, personal injury and commercial cases. Collyn handled the legal strategy and appeals in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth and worked with co-counsel on petitioners’ behalf in the United States Supreme Court. She is deeply familiar with pharmaceutical and medical device preemption issues, having represented both pharmaceutical companies and injured individuals, and testified about the Bruesewitz case and preemption of pharmaceutical claims before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2007.
The Supreme Court, Federal Preemption and the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act
We are waiting to hear from the U.S. Supreme Court whether petitioners who have exhausted their remedies in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program may pursue claims for vaccine design defect in state and federal court. Collyn was a key part of the legal team that argued Bruesewitz v. Wyeth before the U.S. Supreme Court about the DPT vaccine in October 2010. That case has special importance for those pursuing thimerosal-induced autism claims based on a vaccine design defect theory. Collyn will discuss the decision and its implications, if the Court has handed it down, or if the decision remains pending, what the likely outcomes might be.
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C. Rick Ellis, PhD
Rick is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist. He provides individual and family psychotherapy in private practice, forensic and hospital settings. He has written widely on psychological and educational issues. He frequently testifies in court as an expert in criminal and civil cases involving individuals on the autism spectrum.
Louis Conte
Louis is the President of Autism Action New York and a board member of EBCALA, where he has served as the director of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Justice Project. Louis has advocated extensively in Albany for autism health insurance reform, vaccination choice and improved educational services for people with autism. Lou has extensive experience in law enforcement, having worked in probation for more than twenty years.
Criminal Law, Law Enforcement and Autism
Rick will address the critical role of experts in cases involving individuals on the autism spectrum. Rick will discuss the role of the psychological expert; Lou will talk about the role of a criminal investigator. Miscarriages of justice occur on a daily basis against ASD individuals and family members. It is only through education of those in law enforcement and the courts that these injustices can be stopped.
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Mary, Bob and Lou’s biographies are listed in full above
The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Justice Project Update
Mary, Lou and Bob will discuss how the VICP Justice Project has evolved over time. They will review the Project history, thesis, methodology, and findings. They will discuss specific examples from their study and will address the implications of the study and the foreseeable next steps.
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Timothy A. Adams, Esq.
Timothy received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine and his Juris Doctorate degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. He has served as an adjunct professor and Associate Director of the Special Education Advocacy Clinic, Pepperdine University School of Law. He is actively involved in educating parents through presentations to disability rights organizations and parent support groups including speaking at Autism One (2005-2011), the National Autism Association (2005 and 2007-2010) and the National Epilepsy Foundation Annual Conference (2001). He has been interviewed and quoted in publications including the Daily Journal (2001), the Orange County Register and the nationally published magazine Parenting (March 2003); He is Adams & Associates’ Chief Executive Officer.
Introduction
Advocating for special needs child is a complex and sometimes counter-intuitive process. In these sessions, lawyers and parents will learn the basic concepts of special education law, the importance of strategizing and how to use this knowledge to gain control of their client or child's education. The primary goal of this track: parents, advocates, lawyers and pro bono attorneys will become empowered IEP team members by gaining an understanding of special ed law, which then can be directly applied to their child's specific situation.
Each conference attendee will receive a workbook with supporting information on key concepts, selected sections of IDEA, background facts on case studies as well as recommended reading and resources. Topics for this track of EBCALA include, but are not limited to:
-Documentation, letter writing, gathering and evaluating documents
-Selecting and working with independent experts
-Timelines
-IEP Goals
-Independent educational evaluations
-Extended school year services (ESY)
-NRC's Educating Children with Autism
-Stay Put
-Prior Written Notice
-Least Restrictive Environment
-When and how to use the services of a special education attorney
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Lynne Arnold
Lynne is the coordinator of Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) of Visalia, CA. Through conference presentations and mentoring, she helps parents to understand their child's rights to appropriate interventions and education. Lynne is the editor of Autism: Asserting Your Child’s Rights to a Special Education by David A. Sherman. She has presented at Autism One (2005-2010), National Autism Association Conference (2005 and 2007-2010), Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT), Autism Society of America and other autism groups.
Session 1: IDEA Overview
Both Tim and Lynne will train practitioners and parents on the nuts and bolts of the IDEA, which was re-authorized in 2004 and came into effect in fall 2006. They will review the basic framework of IDEA 2004 as well as the implications of recent case law in the context of achieving a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for the child affected by autism.
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Mitchel D. Perlman, Ph.D
Mitchel focuses on the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents who have specialized needs and/or who are involved in chaotic-intense-traumatic-critical situations. Known for the comprehensiveness of his investigatory assessments (psychodiagnostic, psychoeducational, neurocognitive), Dr. Perlman is often called on to be the impartial independent examiner in juvenile, family, civil and special education proceedings. He lends his expertise and keen insights to children/teens who have stepped away from the mainstream and/or who have gotten themselves in over their heads – emotionally, legally or in relation to others. He is involved in assessing some of the most fascinating individuals, and he has a knack for detecting and/or explaining things that have often gone unnoticed or that have been misunderstood. For example, in many children who had been diagnosed with autism and mental retardation, Dr. Perlman has found near-gifted to gifted intelligence and has been instrumental in guiding parents to the resources to unlock it.
Session 2a: Assessments & Evaluations
What does a thorough assessment entail? How do you know if your client or child's capabilities and needs have been adequately and accurately assessed? Assessing the child in all areas of suspected disability is the legal obligation of the district and usually the most important building block of the IEP. Without an accurate assessment, it can be nearly impossible to place the child in the correct program that capitalizes on his abilities. This session will explore common contradictions and misinterpretations in district assessments that result in inappropriate recommendations. The most important aspects of an independent educational evaluation as well as critical ages for assessment will be covered.
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Mitch and Tim’s biographies are set forth above.
The Gud Assessment
This session goes into more details of what assessments are legally available from school districts.
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Tim and Lynne’s biographies are set forth above.
IEP Strategy
The first step to effectively controlling the IEP process is determining the appropriate strategy to gain leverage with the school district. The IEP process will be broken down into components to teach practitioners and parents how to evaluate the best course of action in each situation. They will discuss how parents can more effectively respond to district objections to parental and independent expert recommendations. Techniques for forcing district personnel to fully explain their positions and district "policies" will be explored. Practitioners and parents will learn how to apply these concepts to their child's individual needs and their district.
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See above.
Session 4: IEP Strategy continued
See above.
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The panel’s biographies are set forth above.
Q&A
The Law Day panel will take special education questions.
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