Michelle Ball graduated from the University of
California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 1991 with
a Bachelors of Art (B.A.) degree in Law and Society. She
thereafter attended McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento,
California where she graduated in 1994 “With Distinction”
as she was in the top 25% of her graduating class.
During her tenure at McGeorge, while maintaining her grades,
Ms. Ball had many interesting positions which would influence
her decision to become an education law attorney. She
worked for Professor John E. B. Myers and assisted with
his book “Legal Issues in Child Abuse and Neglect.”
She also worked for Patient Rights Advocacy Services (PRAS)
in San Francisco and Protection and Advocacy Incorporated
(PAI), in Sacramento, both nonprofit groups helping disabled
individuals. It was during her time at Protection and
Advocacy that her interest in education law began through
her exposure to special education issues.
After passing the California bar exam on her first attempt
and being sworn in as a member of the California State
Bar in December of 1994, Ms. Ball opened her law practice
in July of 1995. Ms. Ball practiced many areas of law
while building her practice, but began to focus on school
and student issues. Shortly after opening her office,
she was representing parents and students 100% of the
time, and has been doing so ever since. In 1998, she began
publishing her newsletter, simply titled the “Law
Office of Michelle Ball Newsletter” which has assisted
parents and students in becoming more educated on issues
of expulsion, special education, truancy, sexual harassment,
and other important topics. Ms. Ball has represented families
from all over California, taking on both public and private
academic institutions.
Ms. Ball has lectured for the Learning Disabilities Association
(LDA), and has been a guest three times on the Ask a Lawyer
cable television show discussing the rights of students.
Her articles have been published in the Sacramento Sierra
Parent Magazine and in the Families for Early Autism Treatment
(FEAT) newsletter. Both the Gridley Herald and the Davis
Press Tribune have also featured stories on two of Ms.
Ball’s successful appeals. |
Michelle Ball has advocated on behalf of students since 1995 and is the mother of two children.
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