Cathy S. Holmes

Partner

Cathy S. Holmes is a partner with Best Best & Krieger LLP's  Education Law practice group. She is currently a resident of the firm's Riverside and Sacramento offices. Ms. Holmes received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles with a minor in Business and Administration. She received her Juris Doctorate, with distinction, from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, where she was a member of the Roger J. Traynor Honor Society and a recipient of the McGeorge Academic Achievement Award, the McGeorge Alumni Scholarship Award and the Ahmanson Foundation Scholarship Award.

Ms. Holmes joined Best Best & Krieger in 2001 after working for Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann and Girard, a Sacramento based law firm, where she advised school district administrative clients, governing boards and county offices of education on multiple issues pertaining to school law.

Ms. Holmes regularly advises clients on state and federal laws governing students with disabilities. She has provided representation in mediations and due process hearings before the California Special Education Hearing Office and the Office of Administrative Hearings, as well as acted as lead counsel in both federal and state courts regarding services and accommodations required under the IDEA. Ms. Holmes has negotiated multiple Voluntary Resolution Plans with the Office for Civil Rights addressing issues arising under Title VI and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Ms. Holmes also provides legal advice regarding privacy rights of students, intradistrict and interdistrict transfers, student discipline, Internet access and use, facilities matters including the disposal of surplus property, planning and zoning laws, and public works contracts. Additionally, she has experience in conducting internal investigations on claims of sexual harassment, unprofessional conduct and racial discrimination.

Ms. Holmes is a member of the State Bar of California, the Sacramento County Bar

Association, the Riverside County Bar Association, the California Council of School Attorneys, the National Council of School Attorneys, and the Coalition for Adequate School Housing (CASH). She is also an honorary lifetime member of the UCLA Alumni Association.

Education

• University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, J.D. (1996)
• University of California, Los Angeles, B.A.

Bar Admissions

• California (1997)