Parker Poe

Education, Governance & Regulatory Compliance

• Advised superintendents, cabinet members, department leaders, and school administrators on legal and regulatory requirements affecting a large public school district.
• Counseled administrators on student discipline and due process, including the interaction between daily school operations and student special education rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504.
• Advised on compliance involving Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, PPRA, FERPA, equal educational opportunity, nondiscrimination, and student privacy.
• Composed legal memoranda and recommendations for executive leaders on statutory, regulatory, governance, and operational questions.
• Supported school board meeting strategy, including agenda requirements and executive sessions under the Georgia Open Meetings Act.
• Led annual updates to student and parent handbooks, incorporating new legislative requirements before statewide administrative guidance became available.
• Evaluated, drafted, or revised more than 45 organizational policies and regulations.

Litigation, Investigations & Dispute Resolution

• Led districtwide responses to complaints, grievances, litigation, administrative hearings, mediation, internal investigations, and inquiries by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), OCR, and SPPO.
• Served as the district’s representative and strategic lead in threatened and active federal agency investigations, mediations, and negotiated resolutions, including charges before the EEOC.
• Managed a high-volume portfolio of student and employee litigation and administrative proceedings across 55 schools and programs, while addressing identified risks.
• Served as lead associate attorney in a three-day jury trial involving a $1.6 million property dispute, including preparing and arguing expert motions and managing depositions and trial exhibits.
• Managed the discovery document review of more than 1.5 million electronic files, coordinating attorneys and support professionals while analyzing protections, production obligations, and evidentiary risks.

Contracts, Procurement & Government Operations

• Drafted or revised more than 300 vendor agreements, memoranda of understanding, intergovernmental agreements, and procurement documents.
• Advised government contractors on agency rules, procurement requirements, contract performance, breach claims, and potential recovery options.
• Challenged nine agency solicitations and contract awards through administrative protests, appeals, and judicial review on behalf of offerors. Refined bidding and proposal specifications on behalf of a local government entity.
• Represented a health insurer in protests involving state health plans and Medicaid contracts.
• Assisted clients with corporate compliance programs, policies, training materials, codes of conduct, government contractor registrations, and acquisition due diligence.
• Managed responses to more than 110 open records and student educational records requests annually, as well as subpoenas and nonparty document requests.

Crisis Response & Organizational Risk

• Devised and implemented legal and operational frameworks during the COVID-19 pandemic and a separate cyber incident involving an international threat actor.
• Translated emerging compliance risks into internal controls, technical requirements, training, and predictable systems for executives, department leaders, and administrators.
• Overhauled a constituent services response and reporting function that resolved an annual average of 230 elevated concerns from families and community stakeholders.