Student Defense Guides & Articles
Plain-English explanations of the processes students actually face — Title IX hearings, academic dismissal, AI and cheating accusations, FERPA records, accommodations, and suing a school. Written by the lawyer who handles them.
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Testing Accommodations Denied? The Law, the Appeal Clocks, and the Court Option
A denial letter from a testing agency is written to sound final. It is not. Here are the law and the appeal clocks.
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Why Grade Appeals Usually Fail — and the Three Times They Do Not
A grade may be challenged on process, not judgment. The three arguments that work, the two-stage deadline, and when a grade is worth fighting.
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Your Appeal Window Is Five Days. Here Is What Actually Goes In It.
Dismissal appeals run on a five-to-ten-day clock and are decided on stated grounds, not the story. A day-by-day plan and what to leave out.
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Technical Standards: The One Document That Can End a Clinical Program
The document programs reach for when a removal is not about grades. What technical standards are, where they fail, and the two deciding questions.
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The Promotions Committee Is Meeting About You. Here Is What Happens in That Room.
A progress committee is a faculty meeting about you, on a file you have never read. What moves it, and what to do beforehand.
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Colorado Has No Pro Hac Vice. Here’s What That Means If You’re a Student in Colorado.
The District of Colorado does not allow pro hac vice admission. For students with federal claims against Colorado schools, that changes who can file.
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Do Not Underestimate Your School: Why Students Must Be Proactive
Schools have committees, counsel, and record-building experience. Why waiting for the final decision is the biggest mistake students make.
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What Actually Follows You: Transcripts, Disciplinary Records, and Who Gets Told
The transcript, the disciplinary file, and the dean’s certification are three different records. What applications really ask, and what can still be changed.
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Dismissed After Board-Exam Failures: What DO and MD Students Can Still Do
Failed Step 1 or COMLEX and facing dismissal? The attempt-limit math, the accommodation issue underneath many failures, and what to negotiate besides reinstatement.
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Can You Actually Sue Your University? A Litigator’s Honest Answer
Yes — sometimes. The four real legal theories, the deference rule in plain English, what a winnable record looks like, and the costs.