MEET OUR EXPERT WITNESS COMPANY’S TEAM
As one of our court-qualified expert witnesses in education administration matters, John F. Doherty, Ed.D., is an experienced public and private school educator who has focused on improving schools through effective hiring practices, supervision and training of staff, and building a school culture of sustainability. He brings our expert witness company over 35 years of experience as a Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Principal, Assistant Principal, Department Chair, Coach, and Teacher. Dr. Doherty has focused his work as an educator in several areas, including, but not limited to, educator evaluation, school safety and security implementation, IDEA, Title IX, bullying and harassment prevention, pandemic education and operations planning, social-emotional learning, equity and social justice, and health and wellness in schools. Dr. Doherty has a doctorate in Education Leadership from Seton Hall University, a master’s in Curriculum, Instruction, Supervision, and Leadership from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and a bachelor of science in Biological Sciences from the University of Lowell. Our expert witness company is lucky to have him!
Even before becoming one of our court-qualified expert witnesses for education administration and other child custody matters, Frank Sheboy, Ed.D. has dedicated his entire career to public education, working to improve schools through a data-focused approach to teaching and learning. He has worked to address the needs of his school communities through the effective hiring, supervision, and training of faculty and staff through extensive policy work to ensure that appropriate and up-to-date policies and practices are adopted and implemented to foster a supportive, safe, and positive school environment. Before joining our expert witness company, he served schools for nearly 34 years as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, principal, assistant principal, coach, and teacher. Dr. Sheboy has served as an appointed member of the New York State Military Interstate Children’s Compact Committee, past president of the Mid-Hudson Catskill Council of School Superintendents, and President of the Federal Lands Impacted Schools Association.
I have spent more than 40 years in education, and my highly diversified career experience led me to seek out school liability experts and start this expert witness company. At various times in my career, I have been a special-education teacher, served as a public school principal and superintendent, founded an alternative school with a group of disenchanted parents and students, worked as an administrator and teacher in a residential treatment center for children, supervised head start centers, and oversaw reviews of school-level instructional and accountability programs for a large state department of education. I am now a litigation consultant, the firm’s superintendent and court-qualified expert witness in education administration matters. After consulting with an attorney and testifying in court as an expert witness, I decided I would best be able to help schools, children, and families by developing an expert witness company with school liability experts where I could use my experience to review cases involving schools, education, and the supervision of children and provide expert opinions. Shortly after starting Education Management Consulting, LLC, I obtained a law degree specializing in education law. I have consulted on more than 400 cases and testified more than 100 times in courts nationwide.
At School Liability Expert Group, our court-qualified expert witness team works with plaintiff and defendant attorneys, schools, child- and youth-focused organizations, and parents on safety, supervision, and other child and employee rights matters across the United States and Canada. Through the experience of its founder, principal consultant, and superintendent expert witness, Dr. Dragan, and with the support of a highly competent staff, our company prides itself in providing comprehensive expert witness services and highly individualized, reliable, and prompt consultations.
The firm grew from Dr. Dragan’s passion for schools, education, and children. The firm started in 1993 in his living room and has grown to the point where we occupy a spacious office in historic Lambertville, N.J. Having worked with hundreds of law firms across the United States in school and agency liability cases, we respond to our clients’ needs with tools synonymous with those of a large law firm but with the personalized attention of a small firm.
Plaintiff and defendant attorneys, therefore, rely on our highly qualified expert witness company for high-profile and complicated school and agency liability cases — from case inception through resolution. Determining the merit of a case, conducting file review and analysis, compiling expert reports, and offering testimony at deposition and trial are but a few of the services our firm provides.
Schools contact our expert witness team seeking comprehensive reviews of their education administration programs and quality recommendations to improve their policies and procedures to ensure they meet reasonable or required safety and supervision standards so they can effectively fight issues like bullying and sexual abuse of children and avoid costly lawsuits.
Parents call us to help review their children’s current or prospective school’s educational programs to ensure it is the right fit and to seek recommendations for students with disabilities. Parents’ attorneys also contact us to complete school comparisons when the placement of a child in a school becomes a contested issue in a custody matter.
Our experts have held education administration and supervision positions, including teacher, coach, principal, and superintendent. Our expert witness company boasts diversified and unmatched experience in all school and agency liability issues.
Our highly qualified expert witness team can, therefore, help you in school accidents, sexual harassment, bullying, wrongful death, hiring, supervision, and retention of personnel, supervision of students, special education, program reviews and recommendations in child custody matters, or other child and employee rights matters.
OUR TEAM
With over 15 years of legal expertise under her belt, Sadika has been an integral part of our firm since 2008. Graduating with honors from Rider University, she earned a dual Bachelor's degree in Political Science and French. Her journey in the legal field began with roles as a personal injury and immigration paralegal, as well as a refugee resettlement case worker. Seeking to broaden her skill set, Sadika pursued and obtained a Master's Degree in Human Resources from Villanova University in 2023, alongside a certificate in Human Resources Leadership. In her current capacity, Sadika assumes responsibility for overseeing all facets of firm management and development in our expert witness company. Her strategic leadership guides the firm towards sustained success and continuous growth.
Charlene joined the firm in 2017 as a legal assistant after several years as a paralegal for school board attorneys. She graduated from Rutgers University with a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology, along with a Criminology certificate. After gaining experience working as a case manager for adjudicated youth and a cognitive therapist for patients with brain injuries, she later received her Paralegal certification. In her current position as the firm Operations & Development Manager/Accounts Manager, she is responsible for billing, client accounts, handling client calls, legal support, and assisting with the overall operation of our expert witness team in handling education administration and child rights matters.
Christina joined the firm in November 2020 and works as a full-time document review specialist at our expert witness company. Christina is a Seton Hall University law school graduate and has experience working with local sports organizations and working alongside school administrators and teachers to develop an optimal learning environment for students. Christina has several years of experience working as a township parks and recreation board member, including creating and supervising children's activities and programs. Christina is the founder and former director of an annual community 5k run event that raises money for the local fire department and is a co-founder of iRun4Life, which helps schools all over the country establish after-school running clubs for their students.
Peter joined our expert witness company in April 2021 as a full-time legal assistant, bringing a wealth of experience over several years as a paralegal. In his present role, he is pivotal in client intake and correspondence, scheduling testimonies, meticulously organizing documents, overseeing project management tasks, and providing essential legal support. Peter's academic background includes graduating from Albright College in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. Peter further enhanced his credentials in 2019 by obtaining a certification in Paralegal Studies from Bucks County Community College, emphasizing his dedication to our expert witness company.