Al Lindseth, a member of Sutherland's Litigation Practice Group, has earned a national reputation representing and advising state and local school authorities in the resolution of complex disputes involving their obligations under state and federal constitutions. For the past 25 years, he has worked closely with lawyers from the offices of the State Attorney General in states as diverse as Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and North Dakota in important school finance and educational adequacy cases bringing them to successful conclusions through litigation, negotiations, legislative action or a combination of strategies. As a result of these representations, Al has a deep understanding of the wide range of legal, social science, economic and education issues arising in such cases, as well as the expert witnesses typically involved in them, many of whom he has encountered in more than one case.
Al is a member of West Point's famous Class of 1966 and served four years as an Army officer in airborne-ranger units. A highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam war, he commanded paratroop units during the heaviest fighting of the war before returning to become an instructor at and spokesman for the U.S. Army Ranger School. After leaving the Army, he graduated from Harvard Law School and joined Sutherland, where he has spent his entire legal career.
Representative Experience
Al's extensive representative experience includes:
· Representing the State of New York in a seven-month trial challenging the adequacy of the New York City public schools and the constitutionality of the state's $12 billion budget.
· Cross-examining the plaintiffs' expert witnesses in the landmark Sheff v. O'Neill adequacy case in Connecticut.
· Representing many large school districts including Savannah, Georgia; Knoxville, Tennessee; Charleston, South Carolina; Prince George's County, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; Atlanta/Fulton County, Georgia; and several other urban areas, regarding their desegregation obligations, helping to design and gain court approval of major reorganizations.
· Serving as lead counsel in a $150 million antitrust jury trial.
· Serving as lead counsel in a two-week international reinsurance arbitration involving approximately $30 million.
· Serving as lead counsel in a one-month jury trial involving charges of timber fraud and mismanagement against his client, a large forest products company.
Recent Publications and Speaking Engagements
· Co-author, "Many Schools Are Still Inadequate, Now What?" Education Next (Fall 2009)
· Commentator, "School funds not courts' job," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (June 28, 2009)
· Author, "We must use education dollars wisely," Atlanta Business Chronicle (June 26, 2009)
· Commentator, "Featured Book: Schoolhouses, Courthouses, and Statehouses," The Jim Bohannon Show (June 22, 2009)
· Co-author, "California needs to make wiser use of school funding," San Francisco Chronicle (June 17, 2009)
· Co-author, "The Effectiveness of Court-Ordered Funding of Schools," AEI - Education Outlook (May 2009)
· Co-author, Schoolhouses, Courthouses and Statehouses: Resolving the Achievement-Funding Puzzle in America's Public Schools, Princeton University Press (Spring 2009)
· Chapter Author, "The Legal Backdrop to Adequacy," Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm Our Children, Eric A. Hanushek, Ed., Education Next Books, Stanford University, Stanford, California (2006)
· Co-author, "Educational Adequacy Litigation - A Detour on the Road to Reform," presented at the Third Virginia Commonwealth Education Law Conference (April 2005)
· Chapter Author, "Legal Issues Related to School Funding/Desegregation," in School Desegregation in the 21st Century, Christine H. Rossell, David J. Armor and Herbert J. Walberg, Eds., Praeger, Westport, Connecticut (2002)
· Frequent Commenter, issues related to school finance
· Op-ed Author, publications including Education Week and USA Today
· Speaker, Annual American Education Finance Association Meeting (March 23, 2006)
· Panelist, "The Role of the Courts: Opportunities and Limitations," Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference (October 13-14, 2005)
· Participant, "Brown v. United States of America: Debating the Issues Past, Present and Future," ABA's Commission on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (August 7, 2004)
· Panelist, "50 Years After Brown, What Have We Achieved and What Remains to Be Done?" John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (April 23-24, 2004)
Industries
Education, Government and Civil Rights Litigation
News
Sutherland Attorney Alfred A. (Al) Lindseth Co-Authors
Schoolhouses, Courthouses, and Statehouses, Published By Princeton University Press
June 17, 2009
Publications
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges Good Intentions and Harm our Children
November 1, 2006 Education Next Books, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University
Educational Adequacy Litigation - A Detour on the Road to Reform
Rocco Testani and Al Lindseth co-authored this paper which was presented at the Third Virginia Commonwealth Education Law Conference. The paper discussed several recent developments in education adequacy and school finance litigation across the nation, and the impact of such cases on school funding policies and whether such cases have had any measurable impact on student performance.
The full text of the paper can be found in Critical Issues In Education Law and Policy, available through Lexis Nexis.
Events
American Education Finance Association
March 23, 2006
Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference
October 13-14, 2005
ABA's Commission on the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
August 7, 2004
American Bar Association's Annual Meeting
August 5-10, 2004
50 Years After Brown, What Have We Achieved and What Remains to Be Done?
April 23-24, 2004