David Ward German

PRO

David Ward German

also known as David W. German

5.0
106 reviews
This is an aggregated review score of Avvo and Lawyers.com reviews.
Rating: 10.0

Licensed for 18 years

Education Lawyer at Sherman Oaks, CA
Practice Areas: Education, Civil Rights, Personal Injury

14001 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA

Virtual Consultation Available

Free Consultation

About David

Biography

Fighting for the rights of students with disabilities throughout California.

Practice Areas

3

Practice Areas

Education 70%

My practice is devoted to the educational rights of students with disabilities. My primary areas of focus are special education due process and civil rights matters. I also handle discipline matters arising within all types of educational settings.

18 years

70%
Civil Rights 15%

I handle disability discrimination and equal access matters that arise within a K-12 educational setting.

18 years

15%
Personal Injury 15%

I have won tens of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for students with disabilities who have been harmed by school personnel or injured due to negligent supervision.

18 years

15%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Free Consultation

$0 first 45 minutes


Payment Methods

  • Check
  • Credit Card

Awards

Client's Choice
Client's Choice
2024 2023 2022
...
+ 4
Platinum Client Champion

Licenses

Licensed in California for 18 years

State: California

Acquired: 2007

Active

No misconduct found

Location

Vanaman German LLP

14001 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA, 91423

vanamangerman.com/

Online Presence

Other places you can find David online.

David Ward German's Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (95) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 6 reviews | Civil Rights

Posted by Alex | July 19, 2022 | Hired Attorney | Civil Rights

Highly Recommended For Special Education

Every child with developmental disabilities has a right to have an inclusive education. The child can be in a general education classroom with appropriate learning resources for support. A lot of school districts don't want parents to know this and will steer them to special day classes with promi...ses of individualized attention. This was our experience with our son. We learned the hard way that this will lead your child to a reduced learning opportunities path down to a dead end. The child will fall further behind because they are not presented with the same learning opportunities offered to the peer age group. Once we learned this, we tried in vain to have our son placement changed. We had a professional inclusion advocate attend many IEP meetings. Our requests fell on deaf ears. The school district put us through their bureaucracy and stonewalled us. School districts have oversized power in the IEP process. They run it with their rules and procedures. They have the expertise and the talking points to steer parents their way. If they refuse to take the parents' feedback, there is little to nothing one can do to constructively discuss significant changes to a child's IEP. It took us some hesitation to reach out and find a lawyer who specializes in special education law. We found David German. Within a few months, David had helped us turn the tables around. We went through mediation and reached a settlement where we got the majority of the educational requests that we had been fighting for. David completely understood our plight with the school district, and expertly walked us through the process. He handled the case with extreme professionalism and efficiency, and even offered advice on resources to look into that could be beneficial for our son. It is interesting to point out that David's firm is based in Southern California and we are in Northern California, but with Covid, all meetings and discussions were handled through video conferencing and phone calls without a glitch. When we did our homework looking David's firm, Vanaman German LLP, we learned that they had won court cases against large school districts. They have collaborated with Disability Rights California. They are a big player in special education law in California, and have been serving families for 4 decades. We are grateful to David to be part of our son's team. We highly recommend his firm's services.

Posted by Kumar | June 12, 2022 | Hired Attorney | Civil Rights

The best in LA county

David is one of the best lawyer in LA county if you wish to team up to fight for the education rights of your child. He is a very well known person to consult in the areas of getting the best support from the administration for a child with disability. We were very pleased with his expertise and dedi...cation in voicing our concerns for our son's rights before the LA Unified school district. We got everything for our son that we had requested from the LA county. The best thing is that we didn't have to visit the courthouse and everything was settled outside court. So, Kudos to him!!

Posted by Ted | March 09, 2022 | Hired Attorney | Civil Rights

Compassionate, Calm, Resolute Professional - Highly Recommended

When I first started looking for attorneys to help us get a classroom aide for our autistic son in a general education setting, I spoke to 2 highly-rated attorneys that gave us little chance of winning. Then I boldly called an attorney who is a senior managing partner at his firm (Vanaman-German) an...d asked him to take our case. Thankfully he accepted the challenge and thought that there was no reason we couldn't prevail. Dr. German has a heart for disabled kids. Inclusion in a general education setting is his hill to die on for these kids, so our son trying to cut it in general education as a high performing ASD student, was well within his bailiwick. If a defense attorney is brave enough to take Dr. German (JD, MA, Ph.D.) past mediation to court, Dr. German spends more preparation time than necessary to win in court. He routinely tries class action cases in federal court against the California Department of Education and major school districts. At the preliminary mediation, the school district’s attorney was visibly anxious at the prospect of facing Dr. German in court and so the school district quickly gave us 90% of what we had asked for. The whole proceedings were done in less than 90 minutes. We couldn’t be more pleased with how professionally, patiently, and compassionately our case was handled by Dr. German. Thank-you again, Dr. German!

Posted by Lisa | January 17, 2022 | Hired Attorney | Civil Rights

I can’t thank Mr. German enough

It took a long time to find an attorney that took the time to understand our daughter’s case, It was a very complex situation that involved ADA, IDEA, FAPE, 504 and other civil rights violations. Mr. German got the ball rolling quickly and put us on the map with the District. I think I can speak for ...most parents with a child who has not been served or fell through the cracks taking the District on is very daunting. Mr. German allays your fears and gets to the heart of the matter and will advocate in a way to bring a just resolution. I commend his patience and steadfast resolve in helping children that need it most. Thank you, Mr. German, Janeen Steele and Eilleen Eduardo.

Posted by Michael | July 09, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Civil Rights

Michael Stokes

From day one that we met our dear David, he’s been a Champion of kindness, understanding. He has help us navigate through these tough times with our son, not only is he a great attorney is also a family man a father who understands the trial and tribulations that exist with children of needs. so mu...ch compassion, so much love our family have for him he's never not once given up on our son's feelings and how he felt about The indifference that so many we’re trying to bring about in his education. David dealt with the injustices in the System and would take on anyone and anything that would come in his way. He would not let no be the an answer for our son and family. He fought continuously to perfect a perfect balance for our son with the best education possible. from early morning to late night office visits, calls it truly did not matter with David. Early Saturdays morning, offen Sunday night, he would always have time to discuss the matters at hand with our sons education it didn’t matter! I write this review from a warm place in heartf David has truly been a wonderful part of our sons life from the sixth grade on. He's watched Bryce develop into a wonderful and loving son and a fine student. David has been their every step of the way with the commitment and the integrity What a wonderful human being. I could go on and on and on but I think you get the picture of this man of integrity kindness and love, We thank you David from the bottom of our hearts and looking forward to the continued support with JUSTICE.

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David Ward German's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse David
Kevin Jay Lahue headshot
Kevin Lahue

Education lawyer | Jun 11

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"David is a consummate legal expert in the often complicated morass of Education Law. Our firm never hesitates to refer him a case in this area and he has achieved incredible results for our mutual clients."

Omar Qureshi headshot
Omar Qureshi

Education lawyer | Apr 17

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"David German is one of the top education lawyers in the country. We worked together on a couple of matters, and I've seen firsthand how school districts, education attorneys, and even judges have tremendous respect for David. His reputation is well-earned. He does everything well. He cares for his clients, and they care for him. He is an outstanding strategic thinker, he is well-connected, he litigates cases well, he examines witnesses well, and he negotiates well, among other things. If my children needed an advocate, I would call David first. He is the best in the field, and it won't take long for you to see why."

Susan Sophia Bliziotis headshot
Susan Bliziotis

Education lawyer | Apr 16

Relationship: Co-worker

"David German has a remarkably nimble and creative legal mind along with exemplary legal skills in all areas of practice. His clients are able to entrust him with their child's educational needs due to his to fierce advocacy on their behalf and his ability to obtain outstanding results for their child. David has become a leader in this area of law because of his fierce commitment to student civil rights coupled with his well honed legal skills. Lastly, as a colleague he is generous with his willingness to help analyze a case. His reasoning and insights are consistently helpful."

Maria Elizabeth Hall headshot
Maria Hall

Civil rights lawyer | Jul 11

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I first met David German while we were students at USC Law School. I'm fortunate to have had many opportunities to volunteer alongside him on several occasions. He is not only one of the smartest people I know, but is also one of the most caring, kind and trustworthy people I know. I have 100% faith in him, and if I needed a lawyer for myself or my family, I wouldn't hesitate to hire David."

Henry Tovmassian headshot
Henry Tovmassian

Education lawyer | Jun 22

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse David. He is very knowledgeable and works tenaciously for his clients."

Alexis Victoria Casillas headshot
Alexis Casillas

Education lawyer | Jun 11

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I endorse this lawyer. David works diligently to represent his clients effectively and in a manner that suits each of his clients' unique personality and needs. This level of conscientiousness and strategic flexibility sets him apart and makes him an attorney I enjoy collaborating with."

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Surisa Evelyn Rivers headshot
Surisa Rivers

Education lawyer

Omar Qureshi headshot
Omar Qureshi

Personal injury lawyer

Christopher Hans Knauf headshot
Christopher Knauf

Civil rights lawyer

Maria Elizabeth Hall headshot
Maria Hall

Civil rights lawyer

Alexis Victoria Casillas headshot
Alexis Casillas

Education lawyer

Megan Myra Moore headshot
Megan Moore

Litigation lawyer

Henry Tovmassian headshot
Henry Tovmassian

Education lawyer

Annabel Fay Blanchard headshot
Annabel Blanchard

Estate planning lawyer

Susan Sophia Bliziotis headshot
Susan Bliziotis

Education lawyer

Tiffany Marie Santos headshot
Tiffany Santos

Education lawyer

Lee G Rideout headshot
Lee Rideout

Education lawyer

Lyndsy Brooke Rodgers headshot
Lyndsy Rodgers

Education lawyer

Wesley Burton Parsons headshot
Wesley Parsons

Education lawyer

Angela Gordon headshot
Angela Gordon

Education lawyer

Howard Jay Fulfrost headshot
Howard Fulfrost

Education lawyer

Summer Danielle Dalessandro headshot
Summer Dalessandro

Litigation lawyer

Siobhan Hime Cullen headshot
Siobhan Cullen

Education lawyer

Marlon Craig Wadlington headshot
Marlon Wadlington

Education lawyer

Constance Marie Taylor headshot
Constance Taylor

Education lawyer

Justin Russell Shinnefield headshot
Justin Shinnefield

Education lawyer

Experience

Rating:  10.0 (Superb)

Honors

2023

Top 100 Verdicts in America 2022, National Law Journal - Top 100 Verdicts in America, 2022

2023

Top Verdict - 13th Biggest Verdict in California, Top Verdict - 13th Biggest Verdict in California [2022]

2020

Client Champion Award, Martindale-Hubbell

2020

Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell

2006

Student of the Year Award, University of Southern California Public Interest Law Foundation

2006

Edward and Eleanor Shattuck Award, University of Southern California Law School

Work Experience

2020 - Present

Managing Partner, Vanaman German LLP

2015 - Present

Partner, Newman Aaronson Vanaman

2015 - 2016

Lecturer in Law, Special Education Clinic, UCLA School of Law

2012 - 2015

Associate, Newman Aaronson Vanaman

2006 - 2007

Pro Se Habeas Clerk, Central District Of California, Los Angeles, California

2005 - 2005

Judicial Extern to Judge Margaret Morrow, Central District Of California, Los Angeles, California

2004 - 2004

Judicial Extern to Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals

Associations

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates

Sample of Legal Cases

M.C. v. Los Angeles Unified School District, et. al, CACD Case No.: 2:20-cv-09127-CBM-E

Reversal of Administrative Decision on All Issues

D.R. v. Redondo Beach Unified School District, 56 F.4th 636 (9th Cir. 2022)

Prevailed on core legal issue.

C.W. et al., v. Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District

Jury awarded $45,000,000.00 in damages.

E.E., v. State of California, NDCA case no. . 21-cv-07585-SI

Statewide Preliminary Injunction Granted

Student v. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Court ordered remedy of 520 hours of assessment, training, and consultation by the staff at the Pivotal Response Training program of The University of California, Santa Barbara.

Student v. Goleta Union School District

Prevailed. Additional inclusion support ordered within general education.

Student v. East Whittier City School District

Prevailed. Full inclusion program ordered.

See More Legal Cases

Education

2009

University of Southern California

PhD - Doctorate

2006

USC Law School

JD - Juris Doctor

N/A

Univ of Pennsylvania

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2018

IEPs and 504 Plans: A Legal Compliance Guide 504 Plan Reviews and Reevaluations: Legal Best Practices

2018

IEPs and 504 Plans: A Legal Compliance Guide Handling IEP and 504 Plan Disputes

Publications

2018

IEPs and 504 Plans: A Legal Compliance Guide 504 Plan Reviews and Reevaluations: Legal Best Practices

2009

Ph.D. dissertation, University of Southern California Cause and consequence: confronting ethical challenges in models of morally informed legal practice

Languages

Spanish

Activity

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