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CHERIE L. ADAMS is a principal member of Adams Stern Gutierrez & Lattiboudere, LLC in Newark. Ms. Adams is the president of the New Jersey School Board's Associations, Counsel of School Attorneys. She is a member of the School Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey School Attorneys Association and the National School Attorneys Association. Ms. Adams has devoted her practice to the representation of management in school law, labor relations and employment law matters since 1983. She handles employment litigation on behalf of private and public entities, as well as counseling to clients on a variety of employment-related and educational matters, including policy development and implementation, internal grievance and complaint mechanisms, special education, residency issues, employee and student rights and responsibilities. Ms. Adams regularly represents clients in administrative proceedings, state and federal court trial, and appellate litigation. She frequently speaks at seminars regarding labor and employment issues and education topics, and has provided training to administrators and employees on a variety of educational issues. Ms. Adams' legal experience is supplemented by her service as an adjunct professor of education law for the graduate program at Seton Hall University and her role as a board of education member in Belmar in Monmouth County. She earned her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Rider College and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. JOANNE L. BUTLER is a partner in the Florham Park, New Jersey law firm of Schenck, Price, Smith & King, LLP. Ms. Butler's law practice is primarily devoted to the areas of education and public employment law. She represents numerous boards of education as general or special counsel. In addition to providing her school district clients with counsel in the many components of school law, including student, staff, and board operations issues, Ms. Butler represents her clients in litigation matters including student residency, discipline, and special education hearings, staff tenure proceedings, employment discrimination matters, grievance arbitrations, unfair practice proceedings, and bid/contracting disputes. She regularly appears before the Department of Education, the Office of Administrative Law, the Public Employees Relations Commission, the Division on Civil Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the various state and federal courts. Ms. Butler is a trustee of the New Jersey Association of School Attorneys and a member of the National Council of School Attorneys. She also is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association's School Law Committee and its Labor and Employment Law Section. Ms. Butler frequently lectures and provides in-service training on various education and employment issues. After attending Penn State University for two years, she graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, summa cum laude. She attended the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America. Ms. Butler served a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Clarkson S. Fisher, former Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. She has been recognized several times by New Jersey Monthly magazine as one of New Jersey's Super Lawyers in schools and education. MONICA DODD PALESTIS is a sole practitioner from Dover, New Jersey, whose practice is limited to representing students with disabilities in all aspects of special education law. Ms. Palestis began her career at the firm of Sills, Cummis, where represented boards of education, after which she was on staff in the legal department of New Jersey School Boards Association. As a result of her having represented districts, parents and a state association, she brings a unique perspective to her presentations with regard to resolution of special education disputes. Ms. Palestis' emphasis continues to be on how to resolve disputes in a collaborative manner at the earliest possible stage, in order to preserve a working relationship between the parties. Currently, she is mediating a class-action lawsuit filed by the Education Law Center. In addition to her practice, Ms. Palestis also is a frequent presenter in the area of special education law and has authored numerous articles on the subject for national education publications. She earned her B.A. degree from Montclair State University and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Seton Hall Law School. Ms. Palestis also has served on many boards, including 17 years as a board of education member, 5 years as a board member for a county special education school, and 3 years a member of the Parents' Caucus, a group that advocates for the rights of students with mental health issues.
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