Labor and Collective Bargaining
A collective bargaining agreement is a legally binding document that defines many of the terms and conditions of the employee/employer relationship and can impact 80-85% of a district’s budget. Our attorneys have extensive experience in representing our clients in collective bargaining and advising and defending against grievances and unfair practice charges.
Management and Employment
A substantial part of our practice is advising our clients on management and employment issues, including employee discipline, hiring, layoffs and non-renewals, discrimination and harassment investigation and prevention, entitlement to leaves, reasonable accommodations and the interactive process.
Governance and General Business Law
The attorneys at Erickson Law Firm routinely advise our clients on issues relating to the Brown Act, public records requests, conflicts of interest, budget and funding requirements, and responses to tort and contract claims. We also review and draft employment and service agreements, vendor contracts, cooperative agreements with other public entities, sponsorship agreements, and construction and facility contracts. Our attorneys further have experience litigating administrative and lawsuits through hearing, trial, and appeal.
Student
Issues
As counsel for schools and community colleges, we advise and represent our clients in all matters of student issues, including confidentiality and FERPA, student discipline and expulsion, special education issues, interdistrict transfers, student rights, and student complaints and grievances.
Facilities and Construction
Erickson Law Firm A.P.C. has provided advice to school and college districts regarding all aspects of the bidding and procurement process. The firm routinely provides guidance and advice to districts regarding the purchase of goods, services and property, bid protests, and the purchase, lease, sale and transfer of real property. We also have extensive experience reviewing and drafting all types of construction agreements, including the traditional design-bid-build agreements, the multi-purpose agreement, the construction management at risk agreement, the design-build agreement, and the lease-leaseback agreement.
Legal Team
Rex Randall Erickson
Attorney and Founder
Mr. Erickson is the owner and president of Erickson Law Firm A.P.C. Formerly a partner with the Law Firm of Zampi, Determan & Erickson LLP, Mr. Erickson received his Juris Doctor degree in 1992 from the University of Kansas, where he also obtained Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Political Science.
Joshua Taylor
Associate
Joshua Taylor is an associate with Erickson Law Firm A.P.C. Mr. Taylor earned his Juris Doctor from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in December of 2015. He graduated with honors and as a Senior Editor of the Thomas Jefferson Law Review. He earned his Bachelors in English from San Diego State University in 2006.
Leopoldo C. Santiago
Associate
Leopoldo (Leo) Santiago is an associate with the Erickson Law Firm A.P.C. Mr. Santiago earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. He graduated in 2012 with honors and as a member of law review. Mr. Santiago also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from University of San Diego and a California CLAD teaching credential.
Emily Morissette
Associate
Chiemela Okwandu
Associate
Ms. Okwandu received a Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University School of Law, and a certificate from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, the nation's premier program for mediation, arbitration, and dispute resolution. She also completed a certificate with the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law, where she grasped a strong understanding of merger and acquisitions, contract and business formation, quality assurance and security.
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Mission
I have worked with Rex and found him to be very knowledgeable and very easy to work with. I give him an unqualified recommendation. -E. Paul Williams, Ret. Dean of Instruction and Liberal Arts, Victor Valley College