Hope Krisch & Lori Kirsch-Goodwin

Hope N. Kirsch is an attorney in Arizona where she practices special education law with her sister and law partner Lori Kirsch-Goodwin. Together they are “parent attorneys” representing students and their families in disputes with school districts and charter schools throughout Arizona. Hope graduated Boston University in 1975 with a B.S. in special education, the same year that Congress enacted the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She also has an M.A. in Education from New York University, 30+ post-graduate credits in school administration and her law degree from Brooklyn Law School. After nearly 20 years as a teacher and school administrator, Hope entered the law profession, served as a judicial law clerk and then practiced insurance defense and commercial litigation in NY, NJ and Arizona. She has been practicing education law on the student side for the last 15 years. Hope is admitted before the state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey and Arizona, and the 9th Circuit. She is AV® Preeminent rated (5.0 out of 5.0) and was recently appointed to serve as a Judge Pro Tem in the Superior Court of Maricopa County. She is a frequent speaker in Arizona and around the country to train attorneys, advocates, parents and educators in special education law, and is often consulted by attorneys in other states on special education matters.

Lori Kirsch-Goodwin, Esq., is a 30+ year litigation attorney whose practice is devoted to education and special education matters on behalf of students and their families. Lori has a Bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and her law degree from Bridgeport (now Quinnipiac) University. Lori began advocating for special needs students when her own son, now 22 years old, was found eligible for special education when he was in Kindergarten. 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 state and federal courts in NY, NJ and AZ, and the 9th Circuit, and is AV-rated (5.0 out of 5.0).