Danielle Augustin - Anaheim Hills, CA

Danielle Augustin is a co-founding managing partner of Augustin Egelsee, L.L.P. Ms. Augustin is an attorney who provides zealous advocacy to children and families throughout California and has been practicing law for over 25 years. Her legal practice focuses solely on the issues related to special education and expulsions. She provides legal representation at all stages of the educational process, including suspensions, expulsion hearings, involuntary transfers, IEP meetings, 504 meetings, resolutions sessions, mediations, due process hearings, appeals and federal matters. Ms. Augustin's long-standing experience in these areas provides students and families with high quality legal representation.

Ms. Augustin has provided special education advocacy training to C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocates), C.H.A.D.D. (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) foster parent groups, and The Epilepsy Network of Orange County among many others. She is also appointed as co-counsel in dependency matters through the Los Angeles Superior Court to represent the education interests of children within the dependency system. Ms. Augustin has also been a member of the Orange County Superior Court Special Education Panel starting in 2004, where she was appointed by the court to represent children within the delinquency and dependency courts to protect their educational interests. She has also testified as an expert witness in the area of special education in the Orange County Superior Court. Additionally, she provides MCLE training to attorneys in the area of special education.

Previously, Ms. Augustin spent four years as a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Orange. As a prosecutor, she handled various aspects of a variety of cases including Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, Stalking, Assault, Battery, Theft, Burglary, Driving under the Influence, Drugs, Restraining Order Violations and Truancy. Additionally, she was the Domestic Violence Deputy at the Central Justice Center, handling more than five hundred cases throughout her year assignment. She has conducted trainings on Domestic Violence and Driving Under the Influence cases to numerous police departments throughout Orange County.

Ms. Augustin has also trained most Orange County School Districts and numerous police officers in the area of Education Law, specifically in the area of Truancy. She helped pioneer the Truancy Response Project within the Orange County District Attorney's office. Through her nearly two year assignment as the Truancy Deputy, she conducted parent and student meetings with hundreds of families throughout Orange County dealing with the effects of truancy and education. Additionally, she was named the 2000 Diligent Prosecutor by M.A.D.D.

Ms. Augustin was the recipient of the Wallace R. Davis graduation award for her excellence in public Service, Leadership and Academics. She was also honored as a Distinguished Student and served on the Western State University School of Law Bar Association as Secretary of the student body. Additionally, she served as Chair-Person for the Honor Code Committee and pioneered the fundraising of hundreds of new books for a local elementary school. She has also volunteered as a teacher for the Orange Outreach Program. This program specifically targets fifth grade students and encourages them to make the Right Choice by covering numerous areas of the legal system. She has additionally participated in the D.A.R.E. program speaking to students about the consequences of drug use, violence, gangs and peer pressure and has spoken to hundreds of students about juvenile law through the J JET (Juvenile Justice Education Together) program.

Ms. Augustin has been married for over 33 years and has been blessed with four amazing children. As a mother of a child with Autism and ADHD, she understands the deep struggles families endure navigating the educational system, providing needed and effective advocacy so that children can thrive.