Top best Education Lawyers in Bowling Green | 9 available

Sometimes, the best way to prove a case is to show what happened. Mike Owsley uses re-enactments in his work defending businesses and school boards from lawsuits to help judges and juries understand the circumstances of a claim, most often in defense work.. In one case, the family of a deceased boater sued a boat manufacturer. The boater struck an underwater object, flipping the boat over and killing him. Representing the boat manufacturer, Mike reviewed the circumstances of the accident, and believed the boater was much more to blame – given the fact that he was boating at 3 a.m. in an unlit area. So Mike hired a boater to re-enact the route of the boat and hired a video crew to film it. He showed it to the judge presiding over the case, who saw exactly what he did – pitch black. The court ruled in favor of the boating manufacturer.. In another case, a superintendent fired a teacher after her students reported to the school principal that she was drunk. The school principal summoned state police, who tested the teacher’s blood alcohol level. It was more than twice the legal limit for intoxication. The teacher protested her firing, saying she had taken a homeopathic remedy that had caused her blood alcohol level to spike. Mike asked his legal assistant, who was about the same weight and height as the fired teacher, if she would take the homeopathic drug and then a blood alcohol test in court. She agreed – and her blood alcohol level was 0.0. The tribunal upheld the teacher’s firing.. “Demonstrations are often the best way there is to defend a client against a baseless case,” Mike says. “It is often worth the time and trouble to re-enact an event as a way to prove the point. It’s the next best thing to having a videotape of the event in question.”. Mike has largely become one of the foremost authorities on school district law and policy in Kentucky through his extensive work with school boards. ELPO represents more than 20 districts in Kentucky. For many years, Mike and Regina Jackson, another attorney with ELPO, conducted training for the Office of Leadership and School Improvement of the Kentucky Department of Education. Every new superintendent in the state is required to have this training as part of their requirement to hold their office.. School districts need specialized legal counsel, Mike says, because representing a school district calls for balancing traditional employment law with Kentucky laws that apply to teachers and school administrators exclusively. Mike’s challenge is to stay on top of all of those laws, including employment, schools and First Amendment issues that pertain to both the students and staff within a school district.. Mike’s work helps school boards meet their duties to educate students and prepare the workforce of the future. “The administrators we work with are trying to do the right thing under difficult circumstances,” Mike says. “But this isn’t easy. The laws that govern school boards are detailed and ever-changing, as is the case law in this area. We’re able to help school districts make sound decisions and avoid costly lawsuits by working with them and helping ensure their decisions are grounded in the law.”. Mike has enjoyed watching Bowling Green change and grow around him. He’s raised his family in the city, and has long been involved in many civic causes in the area and also in his profession. He’s served as the Past President of the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce and a Former Director of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. He’s been chair of the Leadership Kentucky Foundation and Director of the Kentucky Council on Economic Education. Mike currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Commonwealth Fund for KET, Inc.. “As a firm, ELPO has always been actively involved in helping the community meet its industrial objectives,” Mike says. “Bowling Green grew and prospered and became the community it is today largely because of the important work of the Chamber and those who have led it over the years.”

Regina Jackson believes law to be the merger of several of her passions. She likes solving puzzles, seeking answers to problems and analyzing results. “I like the logic of it,” Regina says. “I like analysis. You start with a question, and you have to find the best solution. It’s like putting together a puzzle.”. Regina worked for Wyatt Tarrant & Combs in Lexington, primarily practicing employment law, before joining ELPO in 1993. “There was opportunity here,” Regina says. “I was coming from a large firm, and I wanted something similar on a smaller scale. I got the professionalism of the attorneys here and the challenge of the work. I would put ELPO lawyers against any of the lawyers from the large firms.”. Since coming to ELPO, she’s used her extensive knowledge of employment law every day in working with clients. Regina is considered extremely knowledgeable regarding the Family Medical Leave Act. This law requires employers of a certain size to allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a sick family member or their own serious health condition, recover from childbirth, or other similar reasons. The law was changed recently to accommodate the needs of active military personnel. “Certainly, any employer wants to try to accommodate employees who have serious health conditions,” Regina says. “But there seems to be a handful of people who abuse the good intentions of the FMLA, and do so often enough that the business is really hampered because the employee is missing a lot of work time. I can advise them as to the best methods to handle the situation that are fair and legal for all involved.”. She also applies her employment law knowledge in working with school districts, and that experience stretches all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1998, she filed an Amicus Brief on behalf of the Kentucky School Boards Association in the case of Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District (in Texas). In that case, a parent sued the school district after their child was sexually involved with a teacher, arguing that the district was responsible for the teacher’s behavior. The brief that Regina filed argued that a school district was only responsible if those with the power to change the situation knew about it and did nothing. The Supreme Court sided with the districts, agreeing with Regina’s position. The Kentucky School Boards Association hired ELPO to write the Amicus Brief to help protect the interests of school districts in Kentucky. “If the case had gone the other way, it would have allowed school districts to be held responsible for the actions of individual teachers in all types of situations, when, in almost all cases, the district’s administrators do not know that anything improper is taking place,” Regina said. “The responsibility lies with the individual teachers to behave properly with students, as administrators can’t be present in every classroom ensuring proper behavior.”. Bowling Green has become home to Regina. It’s a “big city on a small scale,” she says. She is married and has a daughter, Leah, who was adopted from China. “Having Leah adds a whole new level of interest for me in working with school systems,” Regina says. “I’m even more interested now in how the system operates and with helping students succeed.”

Cravens works primarily in the areas of employment law, school law and workers’ compensation law. While the three areas overlap, they are just different enough to challenge him. Cravens stays on top of the law in each area, and researches the latest changes of the law and how it affects his clients. “You constantly have to study the law because it is always evolving,” Cravens said. “That is why it is referred to as practicing law.”. Workers’ compensation law changes more frequently than the other types of law Cravens practices. Workers’ compensation proceedings are controlled by statutes and regulations established by the state legislature and are affected by state courts’ interpretation of the statutes and regulations. As a result, the law changes often. “The changes are far more frequent than any other type of law I practice,” Cravens said. “The statutes and regulations are very detailed. There are specific factors and formulas that you have to know how to apply to the facts of each case. A minor adjustment in the statutes and regulations can drastically affect your clients’ interests and can spawn a great deal of case law.”. The law in the employment area changes more with federal legislation and litigation. Cravens has followed employment law as it changed and transformed since he began practicing in 1992. The Americans with Disabilities Act has been particularly interesting to watch, as the definition of who qualifies as an individual with a disability under the Act has changed drastically throughout Cravens’ practice. Employment cases can be brought in state or federal court, venues in which Cravens enjoys working.. “I like the fact that my work involves advising clients in addition to representing clients in litigation,” Cravens said. “We do a lot of counseling with our clients in the employment and school areas to keep them out of litigation. Workers’ compensation is primarily litigation, so I am comfortable in a private meeting giving advice or in a courtroom representing my client.”

Experienced Education attorney serving clients in Bowling Green and surrounding areas.

Experienced Education attorney serving clients in Bowling Green and surrounding areas.

Experienced Education attorney serving clients in Bowling Green and surrounding areas.

Experienced Education attorney serving clients in Bowling Green and surrounding areas.