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Susan Traynor Chastain

Director

About

Professional Profile

Susan Traynor Chastain is a director and a member of the firm's education law practice group. Susan has extensive experience working with educational institutions in grievance resolution and arbitration hearings, employee and student discipline hearings, employee dismissal matters, unfair labor practice matters, employment discrimination and retaliation, policy development, student bullying, statutory and regulatory compliance, collective bargaining and labor relations, and litigation of public sector labor law issues. She also has broad experience with special education law issues under state and federal law and has represented school corporations throughout the state in special education hearings, Section 504, ADA and other civil rights matters.

She is a former Indiana Education Employment Relations Board (IEERB) mediator and hearing examiner, and served on the IEERB's Ad Hoc Panel of Mediators and Fact finders from 1987 until 1991.

Practice Areas

Susan represents school districts in a multitude of areas including collective bargaining negotiations, labor and employment, student discipline, and policy development.

Education
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Labor & Employment
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Education

Indiana University

Robert H. McKinney School of Law, J.D.
1990
Indiana Journal for Global Legal Students, Submission Editor

Indiana University

B.S., Public Affairs and Public Sector Labor Relations
1985
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Admissions

  • Indiana
  • U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
  • U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Involvement

Professional Affiliations

  • National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys, Member
  • National Association of Educational Negotiators, Member
  • Indiana Association of School Business Officials, Member
  • Indiana School Boards Association, Member
  • Indiana Council of School Attorneys, Member
  • Indiana Conference of Administrators of Special Education, Member
  • Indiana State Bar Association, Member
  • Indianapolis Bar Association, Member
  • Network of Women in Business, Member
  • Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Member




Recognition

  • Included in The Best Lawyers in America - Education Law, 2007-2017
  • Named The Best Lawyers’ 2012 Indianapolis Education Law Lawyer of the Year


Speaking and Publications

    Susan is a frequent author and speaker, writing dozens of articles and conducting numerous presentations and in-house training programs for school and education organizations across the state. Her topics include school employment law, student discipline, collective bargaining, sexual harassment in schools, educational hiring, special education student issues under the IDEA, Section 504 and other state and federal laws, and negotiating contracts. She has presented to numerous organizations, including the Indiana School Boards Association, the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, the Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education, Indiana State University, Butler University, Lorman Education Services, the Professional Development Network and many specialized presentations to individual school corporations.

Susan Traynor Chastain

skilled.
proficient.
qualified.
accomplished.