Minimizing legal risks to its clients is an important focus of Tueth Keeney. To minimize a client’s legal risks, Tueth Keeney. attorneys often present in-services for its clients. On November 10, 2006 and January 12, 2007, firm attorneys Margaret Hesse, Shane Jones and Merry Rhoades presented to the staff of Carlinville Community Unit School District about safeguarding confidential student information and the 2004 changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Tueth Keeney. is proud of its commitment to the advising and educating of school administrators on the complex and ever changing legal issues facing public schools.
Merry C. Rhoades focuses her practice on general counsel services with an emphasis on special education law and student-related issues, school district reorganization matters and tax and finance matters. Because of her more than 20 years experience in representing Illinois public school districts, she has key insights regarding the day-to-day operation of the school district. She has extensive experience in special education administrative hearings, civil rights litigation, state and federal court litigation at the trial and appellate levels, and state administrative hearings.
Merry is an active member of several school related organizations. She is a member of the Illinois Council of School Attorneys Executive Committee and currently serves as its 1st Vice Chairperson and she is a service member to the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA). She serves as an Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) PRESS advisory committee member. Merry has been asked to speak for such organizations as the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE), the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), the Illinois Principal's Association (IPA) and the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) on numerous school related issues.
D. Shane Jones practices in the areas of labor and employment law, education law, and litigation. He routinely advises and represents employers in wage and hour matters, in the design and review of employee handbooks, and disciplining and terminating employees. Shane has also successfully defended employers against discrimination claims, First Amendment claims, Due Process claims, and other constitutional issues, in both state and federal courts. Shane is a co-author of the Employment Law section of the Missouri Bar School Law Desk Book, the principal treatise on school law for Missouri’s lawyers.
Shane is also experienced in crafting proposals and counter-proposals for negotiations, and in effectively presenting the employer’s position at the collective bargaining table. He has directly negotiated, or participated significantly behind the scenes, in the negotiation of dozens of collective bargaining agreements and contracts under Federal and State labor laws. Shane has been a Tueth Keeney. shareholder since January, 2003.
Margaret Hesse primarily practices in the areas of education law, employment law and litigation. She has represented school districts in employment matters, including Title VII, the Safe Schools Act, Title IX, and the Equal Pay Act. She has represented employers in labor matters before the United States Department of Labor/Wage and Hour Division and the Illinois Commission of Human Rights.
Tueth Keeney. is proud to be one of the state's largest Illinois education law practices. The firm has one of the most experienced groups of attorneys in Central and Southern Illinois dedicated to serving public schools. We regularly represent nearly 150 public school districts, including many districts in Central and Southern Illinois. Our Firm is also regularly appointed by insurers of educational institutions to represent districts in complex or difficult cases involving school or civil rights laws.