John Janssen

Managing Partner

about

overview

John J. Janssen is a highly respected and effective litigation, education law, and employment attorney, and serves as a Managing Partner for the law firm. Over the course of 28 years of practice, John has completed complex transactions for client and helped clients address and resolve disputes in administrative proceedings, the courtroom, and alternative dispute resolution settings across a broad range of issue areas.

Beginning his litigation career as a staff attorney for the Thirteenth Texas Court of Appeals, John has represented clients in the court room cases involving public education law, finance contracts, premises liability, negligence, products liability, fiduciary duty, oil and gas receiverships, medical malpractice, special education, trade secrets, and construction defects.  In his education law practice, he routinely provides counsel to clients in a wide variety of issue areas and has successfully represented school districts in proceedings before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Department of Justice—Civil Rights Division (DOJ), U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Texas Workforce Commission—Civil Rights Division (TWC), Texas Education Agency (TEA), and Texas Attorney General’s Office.  John also served for five years as the General Counsel for the Office of Legal Services at the Corpus Christi Independent School District, where he managed hundreds of cases, issues or matters presented to the Office and managed a staff of legal professionals.

John regularly speaks on education law topics at various professional conferences or as part of training sessions. Topics he has addressed in conference presentations or trainings for administrators include: student online speech and the First Amendment; student cell phone searches and the Fourth Amendment; compliance with federal civil rights laws protecting students from discrimination and harassment; employee use of social media; Title IX; handling employment and student/parent grievances; preventing workplace harassment; and the Safe Schools Act.

John has published articles in a variety of publications, including The Review of Litigation, Inquiry &Analysis, and the State Bar of Texas School Law Section Newsletter, and the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section’s News for the Bar. He also is the author of a book on American constitutional development, Constitutional Equilibria, published by University Press of America. John also has taught undergraduate courses at various colleges or universities and served as a Teaching Fellow for undergraduate courses in constitutional law while a graduate student at Yale University.

Memberships

  • Texas Council of School Attorneys
  • Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit
  • Affiliate, Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education
  • American Bar Association
  • Dallas Bar Association
  • State Bar of Texas: Litigation Section, Labor and Employment Section, Government Law Section, and School Law Section

Arlington, Texas
361-288-7340

Education

  • The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1993
  • The University of Texas School of Law, Ph.D., 1996
  • Yale University, M.A., Political Science, 1989
  • Southwestern University, B.A., Political Science and Philosophy, 1987

Practice Areas

  • Education Law
  • Special Education Law/Section 504
  • Labor and Employment
  • EmploymentDiscrimination
  • Litigation
  • Civil Rights
  • Business Transactions
  • Government Law

seminars & presentations

  • “Construction Delivery Methods and Avoiding Contract Pitfalls,” TACS Bond Conference, June 19, 2023
  • “Social Media Posts: Educators, Students, and the First Amendment,” Leon | Alcala, PLLC webinar June 13, 2023
  • “OCR Investigations: How to Meet Expectations and Mitigate Liability Risk,” Dallas Bar Association Education Law Section Study Group, May 16, 2023
  • “Effectively Handling Grievances,” TASA Midwinter Conference, February 1, 2023 (Co-Presenter)
  • “Student Cell Phone Searches and the Fourth Amendment,” Dallas Bar Association Law in Schools Committee’s 2023 Education Symposium, February 28, 2023
  • “Chapter 37 Training,” Leon | Alcala, PLLC webinar, November 3, 2022
  • “Construction Delivery Methods: Choosing a Winning Team,” TACS Bond and Construction Conference, October 4, 2022
  • “School Choice After the Supreme Court’s Ruling Allowing Taxpayer Dollars for Religious Education,” Texas Association of Rural Schools Summer Officer and Director Retreat, July 28, 2022
  • “Bullying and Harassment: The Liability Risk of Inadequate Administrator and Employee Training,” Region 2 Education Service Center School Safety Roundtable, December 2021.
  • “Student Cell Phone Searches: Legal Issues,” National School Boards Association Technology Webinar, September 29, 2021
  • “Identifying Student Bullying Reports and Harassment: Dangers of Inadequate Administrator and Employee Training,” TASA/TASB Convention, September 2021 (Co-Presenter)
  • “School Facilities Construction Contracts: Selected Issues and ESSER-Funded Possibilities,” Region 2 Education Service Center Superintendents’ Leadership Conference, July 22, 2021
  • “Handling Employee and Student/Parent Grievances: Tips from the Trenches,” TASA Midwinter Conference, January 27, 2020 (Co-Presenter)
  • “Overview of the New Title IX Regulations,” Region One Education Service Center Human Resources Advisory Council, August 26, 2020

articles & publications

  • “Protecting Students from Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation: A Checklist for Compliance with Federal Laws,” Inquiry & Analysis, National School Board Association (March 2020)
  • “Protecting Public School Students from Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation,” School Law Section Newsletter, Vol 14, No. 2, State Bar of Texas (Fall 2017)
  • “Public School Finance, School Choice, and Equal Education Opportunity in Texas: The Enduring Importance of Background Conditions,” 19 The Review of Litigation 1 (2000).
  • Constitutional Equilibria: The Partisan Contingency of American Constitutional Law from the Jeffersonian “Revolution” to the Impeachment of Bill Clinton (Lanham: University Press of America, 2000).
  • “Dualist Constitutional Theory and the Republican Revolution of 1800”, 12 Constitutional Commentary 381 (Winter 1995).

reported cases

  • D.H.H. by Rob Anna H. v. Kirbyville Consol. Indep. Sch. Dist., 2021 WL 4948918 (5th Cir. Oct. 22, 2021)
  • Parents a/n/f Students v. Lago Vista Indep. Sch. Dist., 2020 WL 1031127, No. 009-1210-10-2019 (TEA Comm’r Dec. 2019)
  • Student v. Corpus Christi Indep. Sch. Dist., 111LRP 47324, No. 035-SE-1010 (TEA Hearing Officer, April 18, 2011)
  • Student v. Corpus Christi Indep. Sch. Dist., 110LRP 36339, No. 052-SE-1109 (TEA Hearing Officer, Feb. 17, 2010)
  • Student v. Corpus Christi Indep. Sch. Dist. ,110 LRP 49276 No. 171-SE-0310, (TEA Hearing Officer, July 2, 201)
  • Price Drilling Co. v. Zertuche, 147 S.W.3d 483 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 2004)
  • In re Daimler Chrysler Services North America LLC, 2005 WL 3526351 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi/Edinburg, 2005)
  • Tomasi v. Liao, 63 S.W3d 62 (Tex. App.—San Antonio, 2001)

honors

civic & community involvement

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Austin

Houston

Arlington

2901 Via Fortuna
Building 6, Suite 475
Austin, Texas 78746
10497 Town & Country Way
Suite 940
Houston, TX 77024
301 South Center Street
Suite 418
Arlington, TX 76010
(512) 637-4244
info@leonalcala.com
(713) 965-7623
info@leonalcala.com
(817) 385-6404
info@leonalcala.com
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