Litigation: administrative law and appellate advocacy
A focused litigation practice. Administrative appeals for nonprofits and schools when the stakes require formal process, with a track record of prevailing before the Connecticut State Department of Education and Connecticut Superior Court.
Administrative law, not general litigation.
Most mission-driven organizations prefer to stay out of court, and the bulk of our practice is designed to prevent disputes rather than litigate them. But when an administrative matter requires formal process (a regulatory denial, a funding determination, an authorization fight, or an appeal from an agency decision), we litigate.
We do not hold ourselves out as a general civil or commercial litigation firm. Our litigation practice is deliberately narrow: administrative law, focused today on charter-school administrative appeals in Connecticut, and growing into adjacent administrative-law areas as the practice expands.
Commonlight Difference
In addition to state admissions, Lauren Koster is a member of two federal trial court bars and the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. She has clerked for three judges, including a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Two modes of representation.
Administrative actions before the Connecticut State Department of Education
Petitions for declaratory rulings before the State Board. Appeals from adverse administrative determinations affecting charter authorization, funding, special-education reimbursement, and related matters. Direct representation from petition through hearing.
State court review and enforcement
Administrative appeals in Connecticut Superior and Appellate Courts. Record assembly, briefing, and oral argument. Enforcement of favorable orders and rulings.
Beyond charter schools. Beyond Connecticut.
If your matter sits at the edge of our current practice, the right conversation is a scoping call. We’ll be candid about whether we are the right fit or whether a referral is the better move.
State regulatory enforcement
Attorney general oversight. Charitable solicitation. Charitable trusts.
Advocacy and compliance
Lobbying registration disputes. Complex tax-exempt status challenges. Denial of reinstatement.
Broader education practice
Appeals from denials of authorization, accreditation, and seat expansion. State aid disputes.
Federal matters
IRS examinations with an adminstrative hearing posture. Federal grant dispute proceedings.
Scope first, fee second.
Every administrative-law engagement starts with a scoping call: what’s at stake, what process has already run, and what forum the matter is in or headed to. We quote a flat fee for discrete stages of administrative and appellate matters where scope can be defined, and hourly where scope cannot. Thirty-minute initial consultations are complimentary.
Ready to talk?
Schedule thirty minutes to scope your matter and decide whether we're the right fit for your administrative litigation needs.
Schedule an Advocacy Consultation