About Us

School and College Legal Services of California is a duly established joint powers authority that was formed to provide legal and labor relations services for community colleges, school districts, and county offices of education at a reasonable cost. Operationally, we combine the best features of private law firms and governmental law offices.

The services provided include personnel matters, facilities issues of all kinds, student rights and discipline, contracting and purchasing, Brown Act, administrative hearings, collective bargaining and PERB matters, grievance arbitration, litigation, and real property matters.

We are strongly committed to the practice of preventive law through in-service training and timely newsletters, Legal Advisories and checklists. Recent in-service training programs have covered sexual harassment, employee evaluations, employee discipline, student rights and student discipline.

General Legal Services

SCLS attorneys provide school and community college districts with consultation and representation in all facets of the law. The staff assists all educational entities in addressing legal matters related to school bond and parcel tax elections, school site acquisitions, sexual harassment issues, special education, student discipline, certificated and classified personnel matters, Brown Act and all other important aspects of school law. Attorneys provide contracting agencies with written updates on key legal issues, staff training and informational workshops, and policy and contract review services.

Collective Bargaining

SCLS assists contracting districts and county offices of education with the collective bargaining issues that are an integral part of the employment process in education today. SCLS staff supports all educational entities in negotiating bargaining unit contracts and responding to legal issues related to employer-employee relations.

Special Education

SCLS has a highly experienced team of attorneys who specialize in disability and special education issues at both the K-12 and community college levels. Our attorneys conduct trainings, provide consultation, attend IEP meetings when necessary and handle all aspects of litigation from mediation through due process hearings and appeals.

Litigation

While the goal of SCLS is to anticipate legal problems and offer timely advice on law to avoid costly adversarial proceedings, SCLS does employ professional and support staff with special expertise in school litigation matters and proceedings.

SCLS ATTORNEYS:

Over 300 years of combined experience in school and college legal and educational matters.

Margaret Merchat, General Counsel
Robert J. Henry, Of Counsel
Nancy Klein, Senior Associate General Counsel
Janna L. Lambert, Senior Associate General Counsel
Virginia A. Riegel, Of Counsel
Patrick C. Wilson, Senior Associate General Counsel
Frank Zotter Jr., Senior Associate General Counsel
Marko Fong, Assistant General Counsel
Robert S. Latchaw, Coordinator of Employer/Employee Relations
Carl Corbin, Assistant General Counsel
Loren Soukup, Assistant General Counsel
Pamela Brown, Legal Secretary-Litigation
Patti Walsh, Department Accounting Coordinator
Nita Ingold, Legal Secretary
Kristen Quilty, Confidential Administrative Assistant
Jeanine Akers, Legal Receptionist

SANTA ROSA OFFICE
5350 Skylane Boulevard Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Tel (707) 524-2690 Fax (707) 578-0517
santarosa@sclscal.org

EUREKA OFFICE
901 Myrtle Avenue
Eureka, CA 95501
Tel (707) 441-3997 Fax (707) 445-7112
eureka@sclscal.org

Margaret M. Merchat

General Counsel

Graduated McGeorge School of Law 1979
31 years experience in school, college and public sector labor law
Joined SCLS 1985
Special Training and Experience: All Personnel Matters, Labor Relations, Special Education, Student Discipline, Constitutional Issues, School Board Issues and Workers' Compensation Issues

Patrick C. Wilson

Senior Associate General Counsel.

J.D. UCLA School of Law.
B.S. Santa Clara University.
A.A. Santa Rosa Junior College.

Special training and experience:

Employee discipline.
Student discipline.
Governance issues. Brown Act.
Conflicts of interest.
Public Records Act.
Contracts.
Litigation in state and federal court.
Writs and appeals.
School site development.
Construction issues. Bid protests.
Land use and zoning.
CEQA and environmental law.
Condemnation.
Surplus property disposition.

Joseph C. Kinkade

Of Counsel

Graduated Empire School of Law 1991
21 years experience education, including special education and site administration
Joined SCLS 1992
Served two years as Chairman of the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Commission
Special Training and Experience: Restraining Orders, Special Education, Certificated and Classified Discipline Issues, Student Discipline, Construction Issues and Appeals

Noel J. Shumway

Of Counsel

Graduated San Francisco Law School 1987
19 years experience school and college administrator
18 years experience school and public sector labor law
Joined SCLS 1992
Special Training and Experience: Labor Relations, General Personnel Matters, Certificated and Classified Layoff Issues, Student Discipline Financial/Business-related Issues. Brown Act.

Marko H. Fong

Assistant General Counsel

Graduated Boalt Hall (University of California at Berkeley) 1980
Masters in Education, Stanford University (Stanford Teacher Education Programs) 1992
18 years experience in education and education reform
7 years experience in school law
Joined School and College Legal Services of California 2001

Special Education and 504, No Child Left Behind, Brown Act, Dependency, Parent and Student Issues, Discipline, Discrimination and Harassment, Restraining Orders,Public Records Act, FERPA, Federal Educational Issues.

Robert S. Latchaw

Coordinator of Employer/Employee Relations

Graduated California State University, Sacramento 1971
30 years experience school, college and public sector labor relations
Joined SCLS 1995
Certified Trainer Interest Based Bargaining
8 years prior employment with California School Boards Association and School Services of California
Tested and Certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institute, December 2000

Carl D. Corbin

Assistant General Counsel

Graduated Boalt Hall (University of California at Berkeley) 2005
Specialist degree in School Psychology, Gallaudet University (Washington D.C.) 1998
Masters in Developmental Psychology, Gallaudet University (Washington D.C.) 1996
10 years experience as Counselor or School District Psychologist
Licensed Educational Psychologist
Nationally certified School Psychologist
Served in U.S. Army for 3 years

Joined SCLS 2003
Special training and experience: Special Education, student services, student discipline issues, fair hearings, disability issues.

Served on the Office of Administrative Hearings Special Education Advisory Committee for the State of California 2008-2010

Lecturer at Sonoma State University in the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education from Spring 2007 to Fall 2009

Janna L. Lambert

Senior Associate General Counsel

Graduated Santa Clara University School of Law, 1988
17 years experience in school law
Past President of the California Council of School Attorneys; Former Chair of the Foster City Education Committee
Special training and experience: Student Rights and Discipline, Special Education, Personnel Matters, Administrative Hearings and Arbitrations, Governance, Conflicts of Interest, Public Record and Brown Act Issues.
Supervising attorney for the SCLS Hayward and Santa Cruz offices

Ralph D. Stern

Of Counsel

Graduated University of Chicago Law School in 1966
31 years experience in school and college law including service as General Counsel of the San Diego City Schools. Former President of the National Organization on Legal Problems in Education (NOLPE) and past Chairperson of the National Council of School Attorneys. Served as Adjunct Professor of Law and of Education at the University of San Diego and member of the West Publishing Company's Education Law Reporter Advisory Committee. Editor of a book entitled The School Principal and the Law.
Formed Schools Legal Counsel 1991; merged with School and College Legal Services 2001
Special Training and Experience: Business Issues, Conflicts of Interest, Labor Relations, Litigation, Personnel Matters, Brown Act Issues, Student Discipline, Governance, Public Record Issues.

Nancy L. Klein

Senior Associate General Counsel

JD National Law Center George Washington University 1986
17 years experience school and public law
Joined SCLS 1998
Special Training and Experience: Certificated and Classified Personnel Issues, Student Discipline, Litigation, Business Issues, Construction and Real Property Matters

Virginia A. Riegel

Of Counsel

Graduated McGeorge School of Law 1980
MS in Education, Southern Illinois University 1974 MA in English, Eastern Illinois University 1977
6 years as Staff Counsel, Legal Affairs Unit, Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges
30 years experience in school and college law
3 years full-time faculty (instructional designer) Southern Illinois University
Joined SCLS in 2007
Special Training and Experience: Community college issues; discrimination and sexual harassment investigations; community college students' right and responsibilities

Jeanine Akers

Legal Receptionist

Santa Rosa

Pamela Brown

Legal Secretary-Litigation

Santa Rosa

works directly with Pat Wilson, Frank Zotter

Patti Walsh

Department Accounting Coordinator

Santa Rosa

Kristen Quilty

Confidential Administrative Assistant

Santa Rosa

works directly with Margaret Merchat, Bob Latchaw, Marko Fong, and Susanne Reed

Frank Zotter Jr.

JD University of San Diego School of Law
BA University of San Diego

Admitted to the Bar, June, 1983
25 years experience in public agency law

Formerly Chief Deputy County Counsel, Mendocino County, San Diego County District Attorney

Mendocino Community College Instructor, 1999-present; regular courses in Business Law and Real Estate Law, as well as short-term courses in Landlord-Tenant, Constitutional Law, Wills and Probate, and Land Use Planning.

County Counsels’ Association 1999 Litigation Award

Coach of Anderson Valley High School and Ukiah High School, Mendocino County Office of Education’s Mock Trial Program, 1994-2006

land use, real estate, construction, contracts, public bidding, the Brown Act and the Public Records Act. Frank also has extensive litigation experience at the trial and appellate level, including seven published cases.

Nita Ingold

Legal Secretary
Santa Rosa
Works directly with
Carl Corbin, Nancy Klein

Loren Soukup

Assistant General Counsel

JD Empire Law School, Cum Laude (2007)

Bachelor of Science, Psychology/Child Development, Cal Poly State University, Summa Cum Laude (2003)

6 years experience in education
3 years experience in school law

Joined SCLS in 2005

Special Training and Experience: Special Education, Student Discipline, Construction and Bidding Issues, Contracts, Student and Parent Rights and Restraining Orders

SCLS OFFICES:
SANTA ROSA 5350 Skylane Boulevard Santa Rosa CA 95403 Tel: (707) 524-2690 Fax: (707) 578-0517 santarosa@sclscal.org	EUREKA 901 Myrtle Avenue Eureka CA 95501 Tel: (707) 441-3997 Fax: (707) 445-7112 eureka@sclscal.org