We are very grateful for the help and support of lawyer Michelle Ball, whom represented my daughter in her case against the University of California at Davis [UC Davis], involving accusations of AI use brought against her. We only wish we had hired her sooner!

My daughter is seeking a Bachelors of Science (B.S.) degree and was considering a career in research. Prior to starting her freshman year she found a lab doing research and asked to volunteer. She worked with the professor and graduate students, completed a research poster based on work she did at the lab and presented at a UC Davis undergraduate symposium. She later successfully applied for a scholarship funded directly by UC Davis with the stipulation that she was “working” in a research field. The work she was doing with the professor qualified her for this outside scholarship.

Fall of her junior year she successfully reapplied for the same scholarship and was continuing with the volunteer work at the same lab, when without any warning and the day before Christmas break, she was submitted for alleged dishonesty to OSSJA [Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs].

OSSJA via email informed her of her case and advised her not to get legal representation, but to use their comprehensive website for support. She was also provided a volunteer “consultant” who was a fellow student in the law field. OSSJA was adamant that no legal counsel was recommended and the “consultant” also advised against it, while at the same time commenting on how her case was very unusual.  There was no classwork or test she was being accused of cheating on.

We had misgivings but went along with the long and traumatic “justice” process in the hopes of a quick resolution. The process took over 3 months and her volunteer consultant had moved on by the end of the process. Her father, who has no legal training, was “allowed” to listen in on her final judgment with OSSJA via Zoom. Together, she and her father, opted to accept a punishment that was harsher than she should have received, which was offered by OSSJA, along with her writing an essay discussing “her core values and how this lesson helped her”.

We did not know at the time, but legal counsel would have been sure to point out that this judgment:

-would go on her record as “dishonesty”.

-that it would possibly affect her future applications to medical schools, graduate schools and other job applications.

-that by signing she is not allowed to reopen the case.

The judgment did not fit the crime. We have no way to mitigate the judgment. The fact that the consequences were so severe and that we were advised to “not seek legal counsel” is very frustrating!

In addition to this judgment, she was required to write a paper. She wrote the paper following the prompts required by OSSJA while auditing a class she was considering taking and “vented” her frustrations. She wrote quickly and to meet a word count, did not edit and submitted an admittedly badly written assignment.

It got flagged for having used AI to write it.

She was re-sent to OSSJA, this time as an alleged second offense. This is when we hired Michelle Ball to represent her case. To make a long story short there were over 300 other cases being processed ahead of hers, seemingly all AI accusations. The “expert” that was used to assert the AI was dubious at best. The whole process dragged on for an additional 4 months and was very stressful and expensive.

My daughter and Michelle worked very hard to come up with a good defense against the invalid AI accusation only to be told 24 hours before the hearing that the AI judgment could not be changed and essentially: ‘gosh we’re sorry you hired a lawyer for such a minor offense, don’t worry about it’.

Because we had a lawyer, our case was heard likely before the other 300 cases. Because we hired Michelle, our daughter was allowed to include a written defense argument refuting the AI claim.

In conclusion, we are very grateful for the expert defense and strategies that Michelle used to help clear our daughter’s case. We can’t go back to change the first harsh judgment, but with Michelle’s help, were able to successfully complete this case and get a defense added to her file. OSSJA is not a fair system and is heavily biased against the student. Be advised and seek legal counsel no matter how seemingly insignificant the charge against your student is.

Great news, we got it! My husband got us over the finish line!! He and all three school district managers signed the transfer permit today. The district is going to have the enrollment center expedite permission, so our son can go the first day of school. it’s done!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Thank you again for everything – your advice from the very beginning of this has been so helpful as I’ve tried to navigate this situation.

My daughter attended X High School in the Fairfield Suisun Unified School District. The school failed to provide mandated services as specified by her IEP (Individualized Education Program) and also ignored five letters from her doctor, each one more urgent than the previous one, reminding the school that they needed to provide mandated services. Then, outrageously, the school attempted to expel my daughter when she ran into difficulties caused in very great part by the school’s failure to help my daughter in any way, even though they were legally obligated to do so.

The school thought we would fall for signing a form, essentially rolling over dead, letting our daughter be expelled with no recourse to anything but private education afterward. I told them I would like to have my attorney look over the school’s paperwork and called Michelle Ball. With Michelle on the case, the school ended up settling. My daughter was not expelled from the district and received the attention she needed at a different school, a school much more suited to her needs.

A year later, the school failed to provide my daughter’s mandated services again, and I formally reminded them that they were defaulting on a legal agreement and would be liable for their actions. That rectified the problem; I’m quite sure they knew Michelle Ball would not let this slide.

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My daughter ended the last school semester with a 3.76 GPA, the best of any of our children! Michelle is a very hard-working, capable attorney and a caring human being. I would highly recommend her to anyone whose child is experiencing a problem with the education system.

Highly recommended for education issues

Michelle was instrumental in helping us deal with the school district and obtain the best outcome for my grandson. Dealing with the school ourselves was overwhelming and frustrating but she acted quickly and professionally on every issue. I would highly recommend her services in dealing with education or school related matters. Before retaining Michelle we had a referral to another lawyer but it was clear he didn’t have the needed background for dealing with our issue. Michelle knew from the start what was needed and went to work quickly on a positive outcome.

We were referred to Michelle Ball from two other families in our county regarding school/district related issues. After our initial telephone consultation with her, we were confident in what our outcome would be. Ms. Ball’s knowledge of our inter-district issues really benefited our situation. She was extremely professional and expeditious in handling our matter. The requests presented by her, which our school had previously denied, were immediately granted. We truly appreciate all of her help and would definitely use her services in the future if needed.

I never thought that I would need an educational attorney. After all, I was a retired special education teacher, and I had written my fair share of IEP’s. I knew how to navigate my way around the special education system, or so I thought! Then came reality! My seventeen-year-old daughter, with a learning disability, was being denied access to our local high school. It was the high school that she wanted to attend, and it was also the least restrictive environment for her. After trying everything in my bag of “educational” tricks, (over a period of two years), i.e. SST meetings, IEP meetings, a special education public school, and even a non public school, I still couldn’t get her into the local high school.

So, I contacted Michelle Ball. I phoned her office on Monday evening, and by Thursday morning, my daughter and I were sitting in her office for our consultation. Michelle agreed with me that my daughter should be allowed to attend the local high school. As a result of our consultation, Michelle wrote an outstanding letter to the school district superintendent, stating our position, and gave recommendations for the school district to follow. On Monday, the letter was emailed, (and US mailed), to the school district superintendent. By Friday, my daughter and I were sitting in an IEP meeting, and we were selecting her high school classes. Michelle Ball was able to accomplish in a little over a week, what I had been unable to do in over two years!!!

Michelle Ball is an experienced, personable, and extremely knowledgeable educational attorney. I highly recommend her to anyone needing her services.

Sincerely,

I contacted Michelle regarding school issues with my son. I was scared because I didn’t know the school lingo very well and wasn’t sure what I was doing. I put all my trust in Michelle and she was amazing at what she accomplished for us. She was honest and straightforward and I would recommend her to anyone that is in need of a good attorney for any school issues. When it comes to our kids you want to hire the best and Michelle knows her stuff.

Thank you Michelle!

I 100% completely recommend Michelle Ball as your #1 education attorney. She was excellent from the moment I had my first consultation with her to the end. She knows all about law and will give you the best advice to your personal situation. She helped putting things in full speed with my son’s bullying case and I can’t thank her enough.

I hired Michelle to fight a wrongful expulsion for my daughter. She knows the education codes like the back of her hand, so nothing got past her. It’s like she has a third eye. She kept us informed every step of the way. She’ll fight until everyone is satisfied. After it was over we were sad to see her go.

Sincerely,