GHSM’s regulatory lawyers are at the forefront of law and policy across a broad spectrum of industries and issues.  Combining decades of experience in public service and the private sector, our team is uniquely positioned to help navigate the ordinary, and extraordinary, challenges of government relations and regulations.

Through our experience, we know that even the best laid plans can easily become tangled in the web of government regulation, but we also understand how to prevent the common pitfalls and mitigate the unavoidable. We help our clients achieve their goals by navigating the complexities of each industry, developing solutions to ensure compliance with existing rules, and anticipating new developments that could impact their long-term success.

From environment to education to elections, and everything in between, we can assist with all of your licensing, permitting, redevelopment, legislative, and regulatory needs.

Education

GHSM’s attorneys possess decades of experience helping their education clients navigate complex issues, including successful litigation of prominent and precedential cases in front of the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.  Our education practice focuses on advising k-12 independent schools, charter schools and schools systems, as well as education service providers, on a variety of corporate and operational issues including board governance, facilities acquisition, financing and leasing, charter applications and renewals, FTE allotment and appropriations issues, employment disputes, IDEA and 504 compliance, and vendor negotiations.

Charter schools, which occupy a unique and increasingly complicated area of law, are an area of particular focus for GHSM’s education practice.  Funded predominantly by local, state, and federal government sources, charter schools are given enhanced autonomy relative to traditional public schools as an incentive to develop and implement innovative solutions to the educational challenges facing today’s students.  At GHSM, we understand the diversity and complexity of legal issues confronting charter schools.  In addition to being a school, a charter is also a non-profit and a small business, and as such, faces a variety of legal and political concerns – for example, advocacy and organization during the petition process; facility and financing concerns during the start-up period; creating, implementing and updating appropriate educational and employment policies and procedures, including student discipline and teacher evaluation and promotion; technology and insurance procurement; retention of professional services; curriculum development and implementation; compliance with non-profit tax law; corporate governance; management of money and investments; facility and real estate development; and ongoing relationships with the charter authorizer.

GHSM’s Education Group includes attorneys who not only have years of relevant legal expertise but also hands-on experience working directly with and for charter schools and other educational organizations. For example, we include among our attorneys former Georgia Department of Education General Counsel, a Chief of Staff to the Georgia State School Superintendent, a senior education policy analyst for the Georgia Senate Research Office, and an attorney in the U.S. Department of Education legal counsel’s office.    

Given the complex, and often unpredictable, government, regulatory, and business environments in which schools operate, the ability to access subject matter experts is essential not only to achieving superior results but can also help avert many legal problems before they arise.  As everyone who works in this field knows, the success of every school is ultimately measured by educational attainment.  Receiving timely, efficient, and effective legal advice gives traditional, charter and independent schools the freedom to maximize their resources in the classroom and minimize the diversion of time, attention and funding into other areas.

Environment

Environmental law is a keystone of GHSM. Our team has years of experience develop solutions that enable clients to successfully operate within complex and evolving regulatory frameworks. 

Not only does our team have experience in virtually all environmental and natural resources statutes, we actively foster and maintain relationships with federal and state regulators and policymakers throughout the country. Our attorneys have served in key policy development and enforcement roles with state agencies, including the EPD Director and Land Chief. We have the credibility with decision-makers needed to resolve conflicting interpretations of regulations and develop innovative solutions that allow clients to achieve their business objectives.

Known for building strategies that protect and further clients’ interests, we help at all stages of project development and operation in environmental and natural resource matters. From rulemaking and legislative advocacy, to compliance counseling, to navigating complex permit approval processes, to defending multi-million-dollar enforcement and citizen suit actions, GHSM delivers solutions to routine challenges and landmark environmental matters.