Chigozie Frances Odediran

My son was involved in an incident with his best friend at school from horseplay. The school didn’t take into account the testimony of the other children who was witness to the incident that my son was involved in and they seem really determined with their assessment. With Goz’s help and involvemen...t, she advised us how to proceed in the hearing for the incident, what to say or not say to build a case for my son. She came prepared with prints of the school’s policy and was very articulate in describing why my son’s character from what information we had given her and of the incident proved that the course of action that the school was pursuing, my son didn’t fit the bill of the school’s policy for their course of action. If the school didn’t change their mind, this could have affected my son’s future and after countless calls with the school and feeling that they didn’t really care to carefully examine what we had found out from the children that were involved, we retained Goz. First thing she told me is that the school will typically try to push the punishment that wasn’t fit for the “crime” and will basically ignore our pleas, really resonated with me because that was what we went through. No matter how we explained and told them about the witnesses description of what happened, they seemed to want to continue the push to punish my son unfairly even though he wasn’t the instigator. I am happy with the results because I don’t think I would have gotten the school to listen to me without an attorney present. Before this incident, I had total faith in our school and their admins so if you think you can reason with the school regarding what you feel to be an unfair potential disciplinary action and the potential actions don’t fit the crime and you feel that you are not being heard, then I would suggest to think twice about retaining an attorney and Goz is very familiar with the law and school’s policy to help you fight it. The outcome from our hearing probably saved my son’s future for college.

y son had an incident in school and the decision was upheld for him to attend DAEP (alternative school placement) even though it was his first disciplinary offense becuase he was being bullied by other students. In addition to this, my child has an IEP plan due to ADHD, so we had to have an MDR meet...ing to confirm whether my child’s disability was a manifestation of his actions or the school failure to implement his IEP plan is what caused the action. I had the initial DAEP placement hearing without Attorney Goz because I thought it would be a conversation where I could talk to the administrators about my child’s past disciplinary records, how well behave he usually is, and that he made a mistake. I had a rude awakening! The committee had simply made up their mind already and didn’t really acknowledge my comments about my son and within a couple of hours, they emailed me a letter that said they upheld the recommendation and will be sending my child to DAEP. Knowing my child and how he doesn’t thrive in changing environments, I knew this was a bad decision and knew that I needed to continue to advocate for him. I was lost, scared, and felt hopeless at that point. I started googling around for attorneys that would just hear my case so that I can better understand my rights. I then found Attorney Goz website and after reading her bio, I felt like she would understand my situation and would be the right fit to represent us as an educational attorney. I called and left her a message and within less than 24 hours she returned my call. She listened to the entire situation and immediately made me feel comfortable. She was realistic and never promised me that there would be a specific outcome BUT just her confidence and knowledge gave me a peace of mind. I was willing to retain her as our attorney to have her represent us as the MDR meeting. Once I retained her, she went to work right away and started asking for appropriate documents to build our case. During the meeting, I was in awe with her level of professionalism and presentation she provided to the committee that consisted of over 6+ individuals. The person that recommended my child for DAEP changed her mind about my child attending an alternative placement school after attorney Goz presented all the facts. There were two members of the committee that did not listen well to the presentation and voted against in favor of the school, but attorney Goz redirected them in a very tactful way and asked them to really consider her statements and the facts about the case and to not solely rely on an IEP or FIE plan that was completed well over two years ago. At the conclusion of the meeting, the committee voted in favor of us and will NOT be sending my child to alternative school! I promise you; they would not have come to this decision without having attorney Goz on our side. Attorney Goz also got the school to implement SEVERAL additional action items to ensure that my child thrives, and their behavior issues are addressed head on. You can tell that she genuinely cares about the education of students and is passionate about what she does. The meeting lasted well over an hour and at no time did she try to rush or make you feel like she had other things to do. I know I am sharing a lot of personal information and the reason that I am is because I know I won’t be the last person that a school or district will try to take advantage of a child. They will come up with the decision to send them to alternative school because it’s the easiest route to take. I would advocate to please do yourself a favor and ALWAYS get a second opinion. This was the best decision that I made for my child and I would refer anyone that I know to her. My overall experience was extremely positive. Regardless of the outcome, I would have felt the exact same way.

There are not enough words to express my gratitude for Goz! I reached out to Goz for a consultation when I was wrongly accused of academic dishonesty at my university in Houston, TX. As a Ph.D. student, this accusation was particularly scary, because academic dishonesty is taken so seriously in the w...orld of academia. Goz's team responded to me within one day and called me back as soon as they received my voice message. After one consultation, I knew that she was incredible, not only as a person but at her job. Goz is open-minded, honest, direct, caring, and passionate about her work. She is an incredible listener, and she took detailed notes on everything having to do with my case. When we met after our first meeting, she remembered everything I'd told her before. We met for a bit over 2 hours altogether (she schedules meetings for one-hour time slots, but during our second meeting, she let me stay on for a bit longer, venting and expressing my anxieties!). Goz patiently explained the entire hearing process to me and advised me about the next steps I should take. It is because of her that I found out I could obtain witness statements, provide video evidence and discuss past problems I had faced with the professor accusing me. Two days before my trial, she even walked me step-by-step through a mock hearing trial, where she listened to my opening statement and gave me advice. Goz never wavered in her belief and support for me, and this made me feel stronger on the day of my actual hearing. Additionally, Goz had the option of attending the hearing with me for a retainer fee, but because she values honesty, she told me she believed I could win on my own. She also reassured me that if things didn't go my way, she would be there to represent me at the next hearing. Three days ago, I was informed that I had won my trial! This outcome is 100% because of Goz and her efforts to help me. If anyone has the opportunity to work with her, TAKE IT!!! She represents the best of law, and anyone would be lucky, lucky, lucky to work with her.

Ms. Odediran is an extraordinary attorney. She is a very knowledgeable experienced lawyer who we were so fortunate to have found. Without Goz’s continuous support and guidance, I don’t know what we would have done. If you are looking for an education lawyer, look no further! Her guidance, knowled...ge, experience, and compassion are what helped us through this difficult time in my sister’s academic conduct case. Ms. Odediran was always there for us when we needed legal advice and constantly checked up on us throughout the entire process. Not only did we win our case but we also became friends. We highly recommend Ms. Odediran to anyone looking for an experienced academic lawyer. She will not disappoint you! She is not only a great academic lawyer, but she is also a very compassionate person too who will listen to your situation and will provide you with the best possible legal advice for that specific case. We can not thank Ms. Odediran enough for her services. We are forever grateful to have found her. Thank you Goz for helping us through this difficult time!

Goz was on top on things. She took the reins of the case and went to work. She knew the law well enough to explain it to me. She was able to overturn the case that I would not lose my teaching certificate. We fought together. She gave me good advice. She knows exactly what the opposing team was... going to say. She amazed me at the speed she was able to move the case along. We closed the case. In my eyes we won.