Chigozie Frances Odediran

There's so many great things I could say about Goz, I don't even know where to start. We came to her with a complicated issue and she remained level-headed through all of it. She studied our case, researched it, and gave it very thoughtful consideration. She asked very thought out questions and we co...uld tell that she really grasped the root of the situation. She was the BEST communicator and we knew she would personally get back to us with answers anytime we were unsure of something. We would definitely recommend Goz Odediran if you're facing an injustice with your child's school.

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.

Long read but my real situation: I was accused of an honor code violation by a professor at a private university: cheating; use of outside resources on an online proctored exam due to excessive eye movement and gazing. I didn’t know what to do other than find someone who did. I searched all Friday mo...rning specifically for a lawyer who dealt with college students who were facing allegations of cheating. I called on Good Friday afternoon, spoke to a live person, and scheduled a consultation with Attorney Goz for the upcoming Monday. I was embarrassed and nervous having to make such a phone call and explain an event timeline of the allegation I was facing. But Goz put me at ease (Is that even such a possible feeling? – I know that is what you’re thinking if you are faced with a similar allegation). She was straightforward from the beginning to the end. She reassured me her thoughts aligned with mine as this allegation was ridiculous. She also told me about a recent case much like mine that her client won! After talking with Goz, I knew she was going to help defend and protect my interests and rights. An attorney was not allowed in an honor council hearing, according to university policy, which was even more frightening. Attorney Goz assured me that I would be ready to defend myself, even though I didn’t believe that at first, as I was just anxious. She explained her plan of approach for the case and prepared me for it. Goz prepared all documents and a script for my presentation to the honor council. She composed a list of questions and responses if I was asked by the honor council. I emailed Goz many questions late at night (10:30 p.m. and later). She would always respond within 30 minutes. As my allegations were from online exams, the videos were made available to watch. I sent the videos to Goz, and she watched the videos (one test so many times as she knew the videos more than me (one test being 3 ½ hours and the other test being 2 ½ hours). I honestly didn’t watch too much of the videos because I was not a fair judge of myself and couldn’t make myself watch. Goz would have all the times in the exam videos that she was concerned about written down and discussed with me. I then watched those exact time frames that Goz prepared for me, making it easy for me, very helpful, and not so nerve-racking. She made it a simple task of uploading all documents for my presentation to the honor council as everything was labeled and to my liking. Goz met and emailed me each week checking in on me and for updates from university. Before the scheduled hearing (4 months later) Goz would meet with me 3 to 4 times a week and at any time. Goz had me fully prepared and confident to present my defense. When I was first accused, I knew I had to seek an education attorney for higher education students as I had no clue what to do or how to defend myself other than to say I don’t know what I was looking at or I didn’t cheat. Attorney Goz proved to the honor council I did not cheat. I was found NOT GUILTY with Goz doing all the behind-the-scenes work in this case as she could not be present. I appealed the professor’s allegation of cheating. I was then accused of using an outside resource on a different exam that was 2 months previous by a different professor. This professor was accusing me of using an external device (phone) when in reality it was a light box. I now had TWO ALLEGATIONS against me. I obtained all necessary documents and pictures requested by Attorney Goz and she went to work. She let me know this was a tougher case therefore she made sure I had it all together. Goz knew how to respond to this 2nd allegation. Long story short, I was found NOT GUILTY of this allegation as well. Goz represented me on BOTH of my cases with the university I attended, a nursing school program. I was found NOT GUILTY in BOTH CASES from 2 different professors. I recommend ATTORNEY GOZ for any higher educational ma