Highly regarded for her broad and deep knowledge of special education and student matters, Angela Gordon serves school districts, county offices of education and special education local plan areas. Angela represents clients in due process hearings and mediations before the California Office of Administrative Hearings; IEP team meetings; as well as compliance complaints before the California Department of Education and the Office for Civil Rights.

Angela counsels clients on policies and procedures to comply with the ever-changing education law and regulations. She also performs a wide range of investigations, including those involving personnel matters, sexual harassment and discrimination claims, Uniform Complaint Procedures and Title IX issues. In these often complicated and delicate inquiries, she brings extensive experience and skills at reading the demeanor and credibility of people and an ability to piece together an array of facts and stories to reach a conclusion of the situation—one that’s fair and accurate based on the law.

A popular speaker, Angela engages audiences with her lively personality, commanding stage presence and her comprehensive understanding of special education and IEP implementation across all public schools. She also conducts special education training sessions for education leaders throughout Southern California, addressing issues that involve special education compliance, FAPE, due process, least restrictive environments in non-traditional school settings and other topics.

Early in her career, Angela worked as a legal affairs specialist for the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where she handled labor and employment and other issues. She also represented the university in numerous mediations and settlement conferences. This served as Angela’s introduction to education law, where she learned about the types of issues faced by higher education institutions. Because she now works primarily with K-14 institutions, her experience in higher education—which provided her with a broader understanding of education law overall—enhances her ability to help clients.