Our Services

This service is for parents, caregivers or small groups seeking advice on a specific situation or topic. Based on her extensive legal and advocacy background, Leslie can offer general review of your questions and help direct you towards the best resources and plan for your situation. Each call provides either a 30 minute or one hour block of undivided attention where you can ask questions, request resources, or otherwise pick Leslie’s brain.

During the booking process you will have an opportunity to enter specific topics or requests that you would like to cover on the call. Doing this will allow Leslie to better prepare helpful talking points and resources for you, and maximize your time together. 

After completing your online booking and payment, Leslie will email you an invitation for Zoom, a free video call application. Zoom can be run from your computer, tablet, or phone, and you can join the audio via your viewing device’s microphone or by dialing in by phone. Leslie may offer to share her screen to show you resources and examples. You will also have the option of having your call recorded so that you can refer back to it later.

These interactive sessions are led by Leslie Lipson, JD, and can typically last between 1.5 to 7 hours, depending on the depth of the training request. Additionally, multiple day workshops are available. Virtual and on-site training options are available.

Who it's for:

• Child serving agencies (CASA, Parents Training Institute, Protection & Advocacy agencies, juvenile justice and child welfare organizations)

• Professionals in related fields (psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, advocates, occupational therapists, physical therapists, social workers, teachers and school administrators)

• Families of students with disabilities

• Professionals needing continuing legal education

Laws are always changing, and as a practicing attorney, Leslie is continuously updating workshop materials with the latest studies, data, and information. Each engagement begins with a discovery session to determine the learning objectives and audience. Though Leslie offers workshops on a variety of topics, the curriculum is always customized for each audience.

Workshop topics include:

• Data & Disproportionality: What We Collect = What We Value

• IEP Meetings: The Room Where it Happens

• Anti-Racist Work is Not Optional for Advocates: Race & Special Education

• Hands Off: Advocate Tools to Stop the Use of Restraint and Seclusion

• Gender Expression, Identity and Welcoming in Schools

• Safe Schools Initiative: How Georgia Eliminated the Use of Seclusion

• Accountability through Advocacy: Getting Called In/Out

• The Myth of the Super Advocate: Identifying and Understanding your Kryptonite

• Desegregation Movements: Anti-Ableism in (Special) Education

• The ABCs to effective value-based FBA and BIP

• Understanding Privilege and Power within Local School Culture

• Call it FAPE: Avoiding the Discipline Pitfalls

• Applying an Interdisciplinary Lens In Educational Advocacy

• No Longer a Deviant: Stopping the Criminalization of Disability in Schools

• Sustaining Activism and Resistance: The Impact of Advocacy on Parents

• The Americans with Disability Act Matters: why the IDEA isn’t enough in schools

• Restraint and Seclusion: Reporting on Georgia 10 Years After State Board Rule

• Towards the “Good Things” in Life: Vision Building for Families and Advocates

• Labels Stick: “Bad Kids” and Future Myths

• Endrew F.: A Higher Bar for FAPE

• Safeguarding Advocacy and Advocates: It’s Personal

• The Joys of an Ordinary Life: Building Capacity for Strong Parent Advocacy

• Power of Roles for Education Advocates

• 10 Misunderstandings Surrounding Inclusion

• The Legal Foundation for Inclusion: Getting to Yes

• It Takes a Village: Creating a Lay Advocacy Network

• A Quality Education (Not a Special Education)

• Developing a Vision: What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

• When you Know Better, You Will Do Better: Increasing Advocacy Skills

NOTE: Leslie is also available to give keynote speeches and talks on these topics as well. Please complete the Contact form to inquire about speaking engagements.

This offering is for an agency or group of parents who want to…

• Change a particular rule or policy, or want to design the advocacy strategies and steps to implement a change

• Start an advocacy initiative (agency) and want someone to help build that project by making recommendations on education advocacy, how to support other people to become advocates, curriculum design, supporting materials, speaker recommendations, and mentor the person running this type of program

Once you contact Leslie, she will connect with you to talk through your specific goals and objectives, then design a customized project plan for each group or initiative. Each plan may include a unique series of workshops, talks, and consulting time.

Lipson Advocacy also offers tailored consulting services for nonprofit organizations and law firms who are seeking guidance on a specific situation or topic.

Once your organization reaches out to Leslie to discuss your needs, she will develop a custom proposal outlining the scope of work, timeline, and budget for your project.

Workshops Based on Social Role Valorization Theory is led by Leslie Lipson, JD and Katie Chandler. It is intended for agencies and groups of people interested in advocating directly for people with disabilities. It can also be set up as an accredited workshop or presentation for professionals needing continuing education credits.

Please contact Leslie to discuss your specific needs and she will develop a tailored proposal outlining the scope of work, timeline, and budget.

Please note that for all of our services, Lipson Advocacy is not creating an attorney/client relationship.