Taylor Needham

Taylor Needham practices primarily in the student services and special education arenas. She represents school districts in a range of matters, including in issues arising from Individual Education Plans (IEPs), special education placement, disciplinary action, expulsions, suspensions, manifestation determinations, parental consent, distance learning and vaccination policies.

Covid-19 created a slew of novel education-related issues, and schools and school districts are still grappling with the pandemic’s many educational and behavioral repercussions. Taylor tackles each issue with open-mindedness and adaptability, which fosters her ability to find creative responses to problems that have little or no precedence.

Disagreements about how to educate and discipline students with mental, physical and behavioral challenges often arouse emotion and intense responses, but Taylor’s calm, practical and child-centric approach helps diffuse intense situations and preserve relationships. Clients appreciate her dedication, sensitivity and commitment to solving problems in efficient and practical ways. The nature of Taylor’s practice means she’s fortunate to work with administrators over the long term and really get to know them, their districts, level of risk acceptance and preferred style of operating.

Taylor started her F3 career as a post-bar law clerk. During law school, she represented low-income families of students with disabilities at the University of San Diego School of Law’s Education and Disability Clinic. She also clerked at the San Diego Unified School District Office of the General Counsel and San Diego Superior Court, Juvenile Courthouse, and externed for the Honorable Thomas Whelan at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.