Attorneys

Eileen M. Hagerty

Partner

Contact Information

Education

  • A.B., English, 1973 University of Detroit, summa cum laude
  • A.M., English and American Literature and Language, 1974 Harvard University
  • J.D. 1982 Harvard Law School, cum laude

Practice Areas

Attorney Profile

Eileen Hagerty represents students with disabilities and their parents in disputes with their school districts.  She represents and advises parents regarding all aspects of special education disputes, including the TEAM meeting process (evaluations, eligibility determinations, IEP development, program and placement disputes); suspension and expulsion hearings; proceedings before the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA), including discovery, negotiation, pre-hearing conferences, and administrative hearings; federal district court and appellate court litigation; and attorneys’ fee litigation.  She represents students with all types of disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders; dyslexia and other learning disabilities; attention deficit disorders; and mental health issues.  Ms. Hagerty has been named as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer in the field of education law each year from 2004 to the present.  She was chosen as one of Boston’s Top Rated Lawyers in education law (Boston Globe, 2012) and has been selected as one of the Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts (Boston Magazine, April 2013 and April, 2014). She was recently named by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly as a Top Woman of Law for 2014.

Prior to joining KCS, Ms. Hagerty was co-founder and partner at a small civil litigation firm.  Before that, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney and a Special Assistant District Attorney, and litigated at a large Boston law firm.  She served as law clerk to Judge Frederick B. Lacey of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.  Ms. Hagerty lectures and writes frequently on topics in special education law for both legal and lay audiences. She participates in various public service activities, including serving as a member of the board of directors of a non-profit advocacy organization, Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC), and is currently serving as MAC’s board chair, (as she also did from 2006 to 2012).  She also serves as a member of MAC’s autism advisory committee.  She is herself a parent of children with disabilities.

Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Speaking Engagements

  •  Member of the distinguished faculty for Lehigh University College of Education’s annual week-long Special Education Law Symposium, Ms. Hagerty presented on June 22, 2022.  In the Symposium’s Legally Experienced Hot Topics track, she presented “Stay Put Right Where You Are!: The Many Permutations of Pendency Under Idea.”  In the Symposium’s Legally Basic track, she presented “Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Inclusion in a High Stakes World.”  Registration information is available at: https://wordpress.lehigh.edu/spedlaw/registration.
  • Member of the distinguished faculty for Lehigh University College of Education’s annual week-long Special Education Symposium.  Ms. Hagerty presented on June 23, 2021.  In the Symposium’s Legally Experienced Hot Topics track, she presented “Putting Together the Pieces of the Autism Litigation Puzzle: Ten Key Case Examples of the Current Trends and Topics”.  In the Symposium’s Legally Basic track, she presented “Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Inclusion in a High Stakes World.”  Registration information was available at https://wordpress.lehigh.edu/spedlaw/registration.
  • Presenter at NBI program “Special Education Law: The Ultimate Guide” held on May 5, 2020 from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm at UTEX, 34 Hurd Street, Lowell, MA, and on May 7, 2020 from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm at Courtyard Boston Downtown, 275 Tremont Street, Boston, MA.
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (Education Law Update 2020) 20th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (August 12, 2020).
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (Education Law Update 2019) 19th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (March 29, 2019).
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (Education Law Update 2018) 18th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (March 9, 2018).
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (Education Law Update 2017) 17th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (May 5, 2017).
  • Presenter at NBI program “Special Education Law: The Ultimate Guide” which will be held on May 17, 2016 from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm at Wyndham Boston Chelsea, 201 Everett Avenue, Chelsea, MA  02150.
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (Education Law Update 2016) 16th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (May 6, 2016).
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (Education Law Update 2015) 15th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (May 8, 2015).
  • Presenter at NBI program “Special Education Law from A to Z,” which will be held on May 5-6, 2015 from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm at Crowne Plaza Boston-Woburn, 15 Middlesex Canal Park, Woburn, MA. Presenter on Day 1 of the program.
  • Presenter at ABCs of Special Education Law, sponsored by the Harvard Law School Women’s Alliance (HLSWA), on March 4, 2015 at 12:30 pm at the offices of Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, LLP, One Bowdoin Square, Boston, MA. This event is intended for HLSWA members and their guests.
  • Presenter (with Carson Graves and Judith Canty Graves) of  Parents and Attorneys Working Together to Achieve FAPE at the Federation for Children with Special Needs’ Visions of Community 2015 Conference Workshop (Session 1) on March 7, 2015 from 10:45 am – 12:15 pm at the Seaport World Trade Center, Boston. Registration is available at FCSN website, along with the schedule of events. Registration deadline is February 27, 2015.
  • Panelist (with Margaret Bauman, M.D. and Susan Senator) on “Where Science, Policy, and Treatment Meet: An Evening with Dr. Isaac Kohane,” sponsored by the Massachusetts Advocates for Children’s Friends of The Autism Center. This took place on Thursday, November 13 at the law firm of DLA Piper, 33 Arch Street, 26th Floor, Boston, from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
  • Presenter at “A Guide to Special Education Principles, Process and Pathways” at the Needham Special Education Parent Advisory Council meeting on November 12, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at the Broadmeadow School Media Center, 120 Broad Meadow Road, Needham, MA. This free workshop taught families the basics of special education law.
  • Panel member at the MHD SEPAC on November 3, 2014 at 7:30pm at the Marblehead Public Library. This was a highly interactive panel discussion for parents and guardians of special education children to gain a better understanding of the process and the different roles attorneys and advocates play.
  • Presenter (with neurologist Joseph Moldover, Psy.D., ABPP/CN) on Back to School for Students with Special Needs, a free webinar for parents, on October 16, 2014 from 7-9 pm.
  • Organizer and Chair of MCLE program “Update on New MA Law on Student Discipline & Alternatives for Expelled or Suspended Students”, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (August 12, 2014).
  • Presenter, “Disciplining Students with Behavioral Issues” National Business Institute (NBI) (June 3, 2014).
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (Education Law Update 2014) 14th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (May 2, 2014).
  • Speaker at “Remembering the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau: Stories from Alumni” at a luncheon held at Harvard Law School as part of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau’s 100th Anniversary Celebration (November 9, 2013).
  • Presenter, “Bullying: What It Is and Isn’t, How to Respond to It, and Legal Implications,” Coalition to Defend Special Education (October 24, 2013).
  • Presenter and Panel Member, “Breaking Barriers: Women in Law Firms,” MCLE (September 27, 2013) (www.mcle.org)
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (“Education Law Update 2013”), 13th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (“MCLE”) (May 3, 2013)
  • Faculty Member, “School Discipline,” Education Law seminar, Rossdale CLE (October 24, 2012)
  • Author and Faculty Member, “Special Education Laws Made Simple,” National Business Institute (June 7, 2012)
  • Presenter, “The Same Side of the Table,” Special Needs Advocacy Network, Inc. (SPAN) (May 17, 2012)
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (“Education Law Update 2012”), 12th Annual School Law Conference, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (“MCLE”) (May 5, 2012)
  • Presenter, “Navigating the IEP Process,” at The Autism Puzzle: A Conference for Parents, The Institute for Behavioral Studies, Endicott College (April 28, 2012)
  • Faculty Member, “School Law Basics,” MCLE (February 2012)
  • Presenter, “Special Education: Parents’ and Students’ Rights,” Needham Special Education Parents’ Advisory Council (November 2011), and similar presentations to Westwood PAC, Dedham PAC, Northborough-Southborough PAC, Wareham PAC, and others
  • Author and Faculty Member, “Massachusetts Special Education Law,” NBI (June 2011)
  • Faculty Member, “Understanding the Tests and Measurements in Special Education,” NBI (May 2011)
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (“Special Education Update 2011: What’s Happening in the Courts, at the BSEA, on Capitol Hill, and on Beacon Hill”), 11th Annual School Law Conference, MCLE (May 2011)
  • Faculty Member, “School Law Basics,” MCLE (February 2011)
  • Presenter, “Special Education: Parents’ and Students’ Rights,” Annual Pediatric Brain Injury Conference, Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts (November 2010)
  • Author and Faculty Member, “Massachusetts Special Education Law,” NBI (June 2010)
  • Presenter, “Representing Persons on the Autism Spectrum,” Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC) (June 2010)
  • Co-Chair, Co-Organizer and Faculty Member (“Special Education Update 2010: What’s Happening in the Courts, at the BSEA, on Capitol Hill, and on Beacon Hill”), 10th Annual School Law Conference, MCLE (May 2010)
  • Presenter, “Current Trends in Special Education Law,” 14th Annual Current Trends in Autism Conference, Lurie Family Autism Center/LADDERS (November 2009)
  • Chair and Presenter, “Key Issues in Special Education Law,” MCLE (October 2009)
  • Faculty Member, 9th Annual School Law Conference, MCLE (May 2009)
  • Presenter, “Key Issues in Special Education Law,” MCLE (October 2008)

Publications

  • Discipline and Expulsion: A Practical Legal Guide, in Disciplining Students with Behavioral Issues (National Business Institute, 2014).
  • Consultant to Judith Canty Graves and Carson Graves, Parents Have the Power to Make Special Education Work (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2013).
  • Contributor to Massachusetts Special Education Reporter
  • Fantasy V, in Breaking Barriers: The Unfinished Story of Women Lawyers and Judges in Massachusetts (Margot Botsford, Patti B. Saris, and Barbara Berenson eds. 2012).
  • Special Education: Advocating on Behalf of Students & Parents in SCHOOL LAW IN MASSACHUSETTS (Rhoda E. Schneider ed., 1st ed. 2003; 2d ed. 2012; 5th ed. 2014) (with Robert K. Crabtree)
  • Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), Evaluations and Eligibility, and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), in Special Education Laws Made Simple (National Business Institute, 2012)
  • Unraveling the Requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in Massachusetts Special Education Law (National Business Institute, 2010, 2011)
  • Pre-Deposition Motions, in Massachusetts Deposition Practice Manual (MCLE New England, 1992, 2006, 2013)

Awards & Honors

  • Selected for inclusion in the 28th-30th Editions by The Best Lawyers in America – Education Law (The Best Lawyers in America, August 2021-2023).
  • Chosen as New England and Massachusetts Super Lawyer® (Education Law) (2004 – present)
  • 2019-2020 Recipient of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (“MCLE”) Scholar-Mentor Award 
  • Selected for inclusion in the 26th Edition by The Best Lawyers in America (The Best Lawyers in America, August 2019).
  • Selected as one of the Top Women Attorneys in Massachusetts for Schools and Education (Boston Magazine, April 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016)
  • Selected as Top Woman of Law (Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly,  2014)
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV (highest possible) Rating (Martindale-Hubbell 1989-Present)
  • Chosen as one of Boston’s Top Rated Lawyers in education law (Boston Globe, 2012)
  • Has held Martindale-Hubbell AV rating continuously since 1990
  • Howard Walsh Award for Excellence in English, Award for Excellence in Classics

Community Leadership

  • Board of Directors, Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC): Chair (2018-Present; 2006 – 2012),  Co-Chair (2005-2006), Member (2004-present)
  • Member, Autism Advisory Committee, Massachusetts Advocates for Children (2003-present)
  • Member, Advocacy Committee, Asperger’s Association of New England (AANE) (2012- present)
  • Member, Charles River Center (formerly Charles River ARC)

Please Note:

Emailing Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, LLP or any of the firm’s attorneys does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and our firm.

Communications received or sent via this website may not be subject to attorney-client privilege and may not be confidential. Do not email confidential information to us.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 617-227-7031.

Submit