Hope Kirsch is a partner with the education law firm of Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC, in Scottsdale, founded in 2006. She is a licensed special education teacher and 30 year attorney. Hope practices with her sister representing K-12 students throughout Arizona in school-related matters including advocacy, Due Process Complaints, appeals, 504s, OCR, Title IX, discipline and bullying. She also represents and advises higher education students in academic integrity matters, disability accommodations and discrimination, grade appeals and residency. Hope was a special education teacher and coordinator in the New York City public schools for 18 years where she worked with the most challenging populations and supervised and trained teachers in teaching strategies, curriculum development, drafting IEPs and behavior management techniques. She has a Bachelor’s degree in special education from Boston University (cum laude), a Master’s degree in special education from NYU, 30+ post-graduate credits in educational supervision and administration, and her law degree from Brooklyn Law School (Dean’s Merit Scholar). She began her law career as a judicial clerk in the Superior Court of New Jersey and then as an associate at a NY/NJ litigation and appellate firm. She moved to Arizona in 1999 and was an associate and then partner at Broening Oberg until 2006. Hope is admitted to the state and federal district courts in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. She is AV® Preeminent rated and serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Superior Court of Arizona.

Lori Kirsch-Goodwin is a founding member of the law firm of Kirsch-Goodwin & Kirsch, PLLC, representing and advising special needs students and their families throughout Arizona in school related matters and disputes under the IDEA and 504. She graduated Syracuse University and the University of Bridgeport (Quinnipiac School of Law). She practiced in New York and New Jersey from 1987 until 1995 when she moved to Arizona where she has been practicing ever since. She is the parent of an adult on the spectrum and was a litigation/trial attorney. She began her practice in special education law as she navigated her son’s education through the public schools. Lori is regularly involved in eligibility and IEP meetings, MDRs, disciplinary due process hearings, OCR, IDEA Due Process, and DDD appeals. She is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and the 9th Circuit, and is AV-rated. Lori prevailed in a case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that involved appropriateness of a school’s selection of location of a school for a student on the spectrum. She is AV® Preeminent rated and serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Superior Court of Arizona.

Jessica Sanchez is a partner with the firm Udall Shumway PLC in Mesa, Arizona. She focuses her practice primarily in the area of education law, representing school districts and charter schools throughout the State. In addition to her time at Udall Shumway PLC, Ms. Sanchez has also served as in-house legal counsel for the Scottsdale Unified School District and the General Counsel for the three Tempe School Districts (Tempe Union High School District, Tempe Elementary School District and Kyrene Elementary School District). Ms. Sanchez has experience providing legal advice and representation on a broad range of matters including, but not limited to, special education, student discipline, employment matters, Open Meeting Law, public records, policy review, and governing board liability issues. Ms. Sanchez has conducted many in-service training programs and has presented a variety of seminars for the National Business Institute, MEDS-PDN, and the Arizona School Boards Association. Ms. Sanchez recently served as President of the Arizona State Bar Board of Governors.

Flynn Carey is a founder and member of Mitchell Stein Carey Chapman in Phoenix. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (cum laude) where he was on Law Review, the recipient of the Honorable Rufus C. Coulter Scholarship and President of the Criminal Law Society. Flynn’s practice focuses on the defense of licensed professionals, criminal defense, school discipline, and Title IX litigation. He is one of only two attorneys recognized by the State Bar of Arizona as a Certified Specialist in Administrative Law. Flynn frequently represents and defends students in criminal matters.

Honorable Steven W. McCarthy was appointed by Governor Hobbs as a Judge to the Maricopa County Superior Court in April 2023, assigned to Family Court. This appointment followed four years on the bench as a Commissioner during which time he held an assignment in the criminal department. Prior to joining the bench, Judge McCarthy was a capital defense attorney with the Maricopa County Public Defender’s office from 2014 to 2019 which he first joined in 2009 as a trial attorney. He also sat as a member of the State Bar of Arizona’s Criminal Jury Instructions. Judge McCarthy received a B.A. from Santa Clara University in 2023, his J.D. from Phoenix Law School in 2009 and an LL.M. from Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College in 2019.