Kathleen Gibbons Joins Tressler's Local Government Practice Group
Chicago, IL, July 20, 2020 - We are proud to welcome Kathleen M. Gibbons as Senior Counsel in Tressler’s Local Government Practice Group in Chicago. Kathleen’s practice focuses on education, special education, litigation and general services for government clients.
"Kathleen is an exceptional attorney," said John O'Driscoll, Co-Chair of Tressler's Local Government Practice Group. "Our attorneys are known for providing responsive, personalized client service to a wide range of schools, cooperatives and school districts throughout Illinois. Kathleen's background in education makes her a great asset to our current and future clients, and we are proud to have her on our team."
Kathleen brings more than three decades of experience to Tressler’s Local Government Practice Group. Prior to joining Tressler, Kathleen was Senior Assistant General Counsel for the Board of Education of the City of Chicago for more than 26 years. During her tenure at the Chicago Board, Kathleen litigated over 150 multi and single plaintiff employment discrimination cases. In addition to litigating, a primary focus of Kathleen’s work at the Chicago Board was providing legal advice regarding the federal and state laws and regulations concerning students with disabilities and students who were homeless.
In her role as Senior Assistant General Counsel, Kathleen oversaw the Chicago Board’s implementation of and compliance with two special education and one homeless class action consent decrees, which impacted all 600+ Chicago Public Schools (CPS) schools, including all charter schools, and affected the education of the approximately 400,000 CPS students, 54,000 students with disabilities and 15,000 students who are homeless each school year. Kathleen wrote several manuals and guidance documents regarding the IDEA, Section 504, various chronic health conditions and service animals. She also drafted several Chicago Board polices and provided staff development trainings to thousands of CPS employees on such topics as the IDEA, Section 504, ADA, McKinney-Vento, student confidentiality, Title IX and sex discrimination.
Kathleen began her legal career in Tressler LLP's Chicago office (then called Tressler, Soderstrom, Maloney & Priess) as an associate in 1987.
“I am excited to be back at Tressler," said Kathleen Gibbons. "I look forward to working alongside this experienced team to serve our clients and expand our government and education practice."
Kathleen can be reached at kgibbons@tresslerllp.com or by phone at (312) 768-2280.
About Tressler LLP
Tressler has one of the most experienced and multi-faceted government law practices in Illinois. As local governments are faced with increasingly complex regulatory matters and ever-growing exposure to litigation, we offer a diverse array of talent to serve our clients’ needs. From our Chicago and Bolingbrook offices, our seasoned team is uniquely positioned to represent municipalities, cities, villages, park districts, school districts and other public entities throughout northern Illinois, including Lake, Cook, Will, DuPage, Kane and Grundy counties.
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