The Charm City of Baltimore is known for its Inner Harbor, proximity to Washington, D.C., and, let's face it, HBO's The Wire. These hallmarks can sometimes overshadow the people who actually live and study in Baltimore—including students at all levels who, being young people, are liable to make mistakes and struggle academically.
If you are a student or parent of a student in the Baltimore metro area, there is only one thing to do when trouble arises: Get the help of an experienced student attorney-advisor. Whether your school-related issue stems from academic difficulties, alleged Title IX violations, behavioral misconduct, or another type of issue, the student has much to lose.
Hiring the “local” attorney is not generally the wise approach. Instead, let a law firm that specializes in student defense—the Lento Law Firm—advocate for you or your student.
Baltimore Metropolitan Area - Unique Challenges and Cities That We Serve
We won't tell you that eating soft shell crab makes a student any more likely to get in trouble than another. The reality is, students in the Baltimore metro area face the same moral hazards, academic challenges, and other potential problems that most students in mid-sized cities and suburbs face.
A K-12 or university student in the Baltimore metro area may:
- Face great pressure to succeed academically, which may lead to instances of academic misconduct
- Face bullying, identity issues, and other challenges that can interfere with academics and cloud one's decision making
- Be exploring their relationship with risk, including the use of alcohol and drugs and sexual relationships
- Be grappling with the other challenges that come with being young and maturing into an adult (for older students)
These are real hurdles that school administrators sometimes seem to forget that every student must navigate. When students run into hardship—whether it is a semester of poor academic performance, accusations of sexual impropriety, or otherwise—we must remember that these are still kids.
The Lento Law Firm takes an empathetic approach to student defense. We will seek the most acceptable outcome to your or your student's unresolved issue in the Baltimore metro area.
We Serve Every Student in the Baltimore Metro Area, from K-12 to University
The nightmare that involves you failing to turn in an assignment or withdraw from a class and missing graduation because of your mistake is a common one. Even years or decades after graduating, many people report nighttime visions of failing to prepare for an exam.
The point is this: Students face challenges so great that remnants of those challenges sometimes linger well after they've finished school. These aren't challenges that the typical student can navigate alone, which is why the Lento Law Firm has made student defense our specialty.
Attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento is available to help any student in need, including those in the Baltimore metro area, attending:
Colleges and Universities in the Baltimore Metro Area
Baltimore is a beloved American city, offering plenty of professional and educational opportunities. We're familiar with local colleges and universities, including:
- University of Maryland - Baltimore
- Towson University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Coppin State University
- The University of Baltimore
- Loyola University Maryland
- McDaniel College
- Notre Dame of Maryland University
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
- Morgan State University
- Goucher College
- Stevenson University
- St. John's College
- All other colleges and universities in the Baltimore metro area
If your Baltimore-area college or university did not make this list, don't make too much of it. The Lento Law Firm can still assist with your student defense needs, so contact us today.
Graduate and Specialty Collegiate Programs in Baltimore, Columbia, Towson, and Surrounding Cities
If you've taken the leap of committing to a specialty program, or you've progressed to graduate school, then you may have more to lose than an undergraduate student who hasn't even declared a major.
Let our team help you fight any potential sanctions being considered by:
- All UMBC Graduate Programs
- All Johns Hopkins University Graduate Programs
- All University of Maryland Graduate Programs
- All Towson University Graduate Programs
- Capitol Technology University
- Maryland Institute College of Art
- Ner Israel Rabbinical College
- United States Naval Academy
- All other graduate and specialty programs in the Baltimore metro area
Every sanction matters, even those that you might consider “minor.” Students in niche and graduate programs may already face hyper-competitive job markets. Having a formal reprimand (or worse) on your transcript may limit your opportunities post-graduation (if you can graduate at all).
We want to protect your reputation by providing a wholehearted defense.
K-12 Private Schools
Whether your student is in the earliest years of schooling or is nearing graduation from high school, you want their record to remain as clean as possible. The Lento Law Firm assists families of students attending:
- The Bryn Mawr School
- Gilman School
- Key School
- St. James Academy
- The Park School of Baltimore
- McDonogh School
- St. Timothy's School
- Glenelg Country School
- Friends School of Baltimore
- Severn School
- St. Paul's School for Boys
- Roland Park Country School
- Garrison Forest School
- Oldfields School
- Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School
- The Boys' Latin School of Maryland
- Loyola Blakefield
- Indian Creek School
- Notre Dame Preparatory School
- Calvert Hall College High School
- All other private K-12 schools in the Baltimore metro area
If your student attends a school not listed above, we offer our representation to you, too.
K-12 Public Schools
Baltimore's public schools are not necessarily known for student advocacy, much as many of those schools have the best intentions. A student attorney-advisor can be your student's greatest ally if they're attending:
- Howard County Public Schools
- Harford County Public Schools
- Anne Arundel County Public Schools
- Baltimore County Public Schools
- Any other public, charter, or magnet district or school in Baltimore and nearby cities
We'll make sure that your student is not lost in the shuffle, as students in the Baltimore public school system have been before.
How a Student Attorney-Advisor Can Help with Any Issue You or Your Student Faces
K-12 schools and universities in the Baltimore metro area reserve the right to discipline students for virtually any shortcoming. From poor academic marks to alleged behavioral misconduct, a student faces 360-degree discipline.
Our firm, therefore, has worked hard to offer comprehensive student defense services, including those related to:
Academic Progression Issues
There are some academic performance standards that schools must abide by, at least if the school receives federal funding. The U.S. Department of Education explains that there are federal standard academic performance (SAP) guidelines required of any student receiving financial aid.
Still, most schools have some leeway in how they handle a student's lagging academics. As Towson University literature notes, its own Academic Standing Policy—not SAP standards—determines whether a student may face sanctions for academic shortcomings.
Your or your student's K-12 school or university may have the discretion of whether to fail, suspend, dismiss, or place your student on probation, among other sanctions. Our team will work to secure the outcome that does the least harm to you or your student.
We may:
- Persuade the school to grant forgiveness based on difficult personal circumstances in the student's life
- Prompt a grade change that allows the student to avoid academic probation, repetition of a grade, loss of financial aid, or other unfavorable consequences
- Expose unfair grading practices
- Take other measures that effectively resolve the academic progression issue that the student is facing
We've resolved countless academic progression issues at all tiers of the educational system. We will work diligently to resolve your or your student's own problem in Baltimore or a nearby locale.
Academic Misconduct Allegations
Though schools throughout the Baltimore metro area may have similar academic expectations of students, each one will have different:
- Published academic integrity policies
- Sanctions for alleged academic misconduct, and leeway to enforce (or not enforce) those sanctions
- Adjudication procedures for alleged violations of academic integrity
- Appeal policies
In its “Tri-School Statement on Academic Integrity” (p.38), The Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore cites “cheating and plagiarism” as examples of academic misconduct. The school designates one faculty member to handle alleged academic misconduct, while an Honor Council adjudicates any academic violation that could produce a suspension or dismissal.
Your or your student's school may handle alleged academic misconduct in a completely different manner than The Bryn Mawr School or any other school. By retaining an attorney-advisor who has overseen countless adjudication processes, you'll insulate yourself or your student from the unexpected.
Behavioral Misconduct Allegations in the Baltimore Metro Area
Standards of behavior for a first grader attending Gilman School will differ from the rules governing a fifth-year senior at Johns Hopkins University. Still, a first grader accused of striking another student and a fifth-year senior accused of trashing their school-owned apartment may face sanctions all the same.
If you or your student are accused of breaking a school's behavioral code, the school may issue severe punishment. Such punishment may be unduly harsh and could also be avoidable.
Our attorneys will gather the facts of the event in question and see what resolutions are possible. Fifth-year seniors and first graders are both human beings capable of mistakes and, in most cases, deserving of mercy. We'll make this clear to the school in question and seek the outcome that best suits the student.
Title IX Allegations Against Students of All Ages
Title IX is something that the general public associates most with universities. From athletics to hotly debated sexual misconduct proceedings, Title IX is, to many, synonymous with college.
And while we do more often see Title IX proceedings at the collegiate level, Title IX regulations apply to all schools receiving federal funding. This means that a high school, middle school, or even elementary school student in the Baltimore metro area could face sanctions for an alleged Title IX violation.
Title IX pertains to sensitive topics, including but not limited to sexual violence, gender-based harassment, and discrimination. Loyola University Maryland refers to Title IX issues as “serious and deeply troubling,” and anyone accused of a Title IX violation may face biases and preconceptions from those handling their case.
The Lento Law Firm will ensure that you or your student receive the due process they're entitled to, no matter how serious the allegations against them may be.
Why Hire an Advisor Who Specializes in Student Defense, Rather than the Local Baltimore-Area Lawyer?
Students and parents sometimes have the same instinctual reaction when they need a defense: “The school is in Baltimore, so let's hire an attorney-advisor who knows Baltimore.”
While understandable, the X-factor in your case isn't so much Baltimore as it is student defense issues. The ideal attorney-advisor will have extensive experience dealing with a broad range of student-specific problems. That attorney-advisor will also have a deep understanding of how to find resolutions with schools of all sizes and types.
This is what the Lento Law Firm offers.
We will make quick work of your school's policies and identify the most direct path to a possible resolution. In some cases, this means negotiating directly with a school's Office of General Counsel (OGC)—attorneys who often have great influence over a university's administrators.
We won't rest until we've secured the outcome you or your student deserve. If we need to take legal action, we will.
Hire the Lento Law Firm as Your Student Attorney-Advisors in the Baltimore Metro Area
Student discipline and academic troubles can change the course of a student's life. Don't settle for just any attorney-advisor.
Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or provide your case details on our website. Retain the law firm that makes students the priority and will make your case our mission.
