Laura Fields has almost two decades of experience advising cities and school districts on the full range of their special education needs. She has also advocated for the rights of special needs children through her pro-bono work with various public entities.

Laura focuses her practice on special education and student services, including student rights and disciplinary matters. She handles all aspects of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 plans; represents schools when due process complaints are filed against them; and assesses whether districts should strategically file their own, in order to contain the situation. She also has experience in investigations, labor and employment, and immigration issues.

Prior to joining F3 Law, Laura was a senior associate at a law firm where she practiced special education law. Before that, she served as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, where her focus was defending claims brought against various city agencies, including New York City’s Department of Education. Experience gained in this role, helping clients satisfy federal mandates despite significant budgetary constraints and challenges, is something she continues to apply meaningfully today.

A parent of children with learning differences herself, Laura also brings valuable personal experience and perspective to the table. This can go far towards diffusing a situation once things get contentious. She is adept at ‘bringing the temperature down,” helping parents to understand the district’s efforts and constraints, and getting everyone (including, sometimes, the older student themselves) back on the team that is such a prerequisite for success. Her own daughter is now in medical school, and Laura strives to give every special needs student a similar path to success and achieving their dreams.