Laura is a lifelong lover of libraries and extended her passion by joining the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the Columbus Metropolitan Library in 2010. She is an active supporter of the Library’s educational and community outreach programs, such as the Summer Reading Club and Homework Help Centers, and serves on the Board’s Governance Committee.
People
Laura G. Anthony
Laura Anthony chairs the Education Law practice group. Her practice focuses on issues involving special education, student discipline, civil rights claims and employment law. She advises boards of education, higher education clients, county boards of developmental disabilities and other entities on issues arising under various state and federal laws and regulations, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. She defends school districts and other public entities against employment discrimination claims and other administrative and judicial actions, and serves as a mediator for disputes involving K-12 schools, colleges and universities and other public entities.
Laura's special education practice includes counseling school personnel on compliance standards, training staff, attending IEP meetings and mediation sessions, representing school districts in due process hearings and related litigation, and responding to special education and other disability related complaints. She advises school districts on student issues regarding custody, residency, discipline, tuition, transportation, athletic participation and constitutional rights. Laura has conducted numerous workshops on a wide variety of legal topics for regional, state and national education organizations as well as individual school districts. She currently serves as a board designated hearing officer for student disciplinary appeals and has served as a Judicial Law Clerk to Judge Thomas F. Bryant of the Third District Court of Appeals.
Professional & Community Activities
- Member, Friends of the Columbus Metropolitan Library
- Former Board of Trustees, Friends of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (2010 - 2020)
- Former Member, Executive Committee, Ohio School Boards Association Council of School Board Attorneys
- Member, National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys
- Member, National Association of College and University Attorneys
- Member, Leadership Columbus Class of 2008
- Volunteer, Ohio Center for Law Related Education – Mock Trial Program
Bar Admissions & Activities
- Member, Ohio State Bar Foundation; Foundation Fellow 2001; Membership Marketing Committee
Awards & Recognition
- Listed, Best Lawyers in America (Education Law), 2013, 2015–2023
- Listed, Ohio Super Lawyers (Schools & Education), 2015–2020
- Columbus Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America (Education Law), 2019
- Recipient, The Ohio State University's Josephine Sitterle Failer Award for Volunteer Service to Students, 2010
- Up & Coming Lawyer, Ohio Lawyers Weekly, 2004
- Barrister Leader, Columbus Bar Association
- Fellow, Ohio State Bar Foundation, 2001
Education
- Cornell University ILR School, Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution, Professional Mediation Certificate, Employment Mediation, Ethics in Mediation and Arbitration
- Ohio Supreme Court, Fundamentals of Mediation, Domestic Abuse Issues in Mediation
- University of Minnesota, Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking, Peacebuilding Dialogue, Restorative Justice and Sexual Misconduct in Colleges and Universities
- The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business, Executive Education Leadership Program
- The Ohio State University (B.A., summa cum laude 1992; J.D., 1995); Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution
Friend of the Library
Educating the Next Generation
As a Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, Laura helped develop Did Not! Did Too!, a book about the legal system for elementary school students. Through generous donations from sponsors, including Bricker & Eckler, seven copies of Did Not! Did Too! and an accompanying curriculum guide were distributed to every third grade class in Ohio. The Did Not! Did Too! Project was selected by the National Conference of Bar Foundations as the winner of the Award for Bar Foundation Excellence in Public Service Programming.
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