ENN partnered with some of the most skilled and passionate attorneys in the country, who graciously offered their services pro bono in the fight to protect public education. This legal team successfully stopped the controversial ESA voucher program, winning at the Nevada Supreme Court on behalf of a group of parents in Lopez v. Schwartz. The team’s commitment to public service has had, and will continue to have, an enormous impact on Nevada public school children.
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Tamerlin Godley
Tamerlin Godley is a litigation partner with Munger, Tolles & Olson. In addition to excelling in complex business litigation, she has become a leader in school finance reform and litigation aimed at ensuring all children have the opportunity to succeed. As a former school board trustee and teacher, Mrs. Godley possesses a unique and experienced perspective on what is needed to support a quality K-12 education system. Mrs. Godley currently leads the pro bono team that obtained a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of Nevada’s sweeping voucher law, preventing the potential loss of $200 million from public schools.
Education Law Center
David G. Sciarra, Esq., Executive Director
David Sciarra is the Executive Director of the Education Law Center (ELC) based in Newark, NJ. In addition to overseeing the operations of the organization, Mr. Sciarra serves as lead counsel for the school children in NJ’s Abbott v. Burke litigation. The Abbott decisions significantly advanced the provision of fair school funding, high quality early education, safe and adequate school facilities, and school reform, especially to schools serving high concentrations of at-risk students and students with disabilities and other special needs, and have been heralded as the most important legal advances for public school children since Brown v. Board of Education.
ELC also provides legal services to individual parents and groups in matters involving the education rights of students under state and federal law, including English language learners and students with disabilities. ELC also facilitates coalitions of parents and community and advocacy groups working to protect the rights of public school children.
Jessica Levin
Jessica Levin is an attorney at Education Law Center in Newark, New Jersey, where she recently completed a Skadden Fellowship. Her practice focuses on advocacy for English Language Learner students and includes representation of individual families as well as impact litigation. In addition to supporting the pro bono team challenging Nevada’s voucher program, she tracks school voucher and charter school litigation nationwide.
Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin
Bradley Schrager
Don Springmeyer
Don Springmeyer is a litigation partner at Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin. Mr. Springmeyer has over 30 years experience in high stakes, complex litigation. As a fourth generation Nevadan, his devotion to the future of his community is paramount and a driving force behind his commitment to ensuring a fair and equitable education for all Nevada children. Mr. Springmeyer has extensive experience in appellate practice, handling multiple cases before the Nevada Supreme Court and before several federal circuit courts. Recognized for multiple consecutive years as one of Nevada’s top lawyers, his leadership as a member of the pro bono team challenging Nevada’s controversial school voucher law has proven invaluable.
ELC and Munger, Tolles & Olson continue to fight against harmful voucher programs across the nation, establishing Voucher Watch, an initiative to track new voucher proposals and provide information and analysis on existing voucher laws. Voucher Watch is intended to inform and assist parents, teachers and advocates for public education in their efforts to oppose the establishment or expansion of vouchers in their states.