Deanna Rader is a founding partner of Rader Mayrose, LLP. Her practice emphasizes advising clients in a wide variety of matters, including risk assessment, company investigations, discrimination, employment contracts, sexual harassment, disability, retaliation, misappropriation of trade secrets, enforcement and defense of post-employment restrictive covenants, policy development, employee training, reductions in force, wage-and-hour disputes, and compliance issues, including FMLA, FLSA, ADA, ADEA, and Title VII. Ms. Rader is an experienced litigator, representing and defending employers in state and federal court.
Ms. Rader has unique and extensive experience advising public employers on constitutional matters, personnel issues, student rights, conflicts of interest, open meeting law, due process under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and public records issues.
She has a recognized expertise representing school districts, charter schools, and private schools on a comprehensive range of issues including compliance with federal and state statutes applicable to public schools, such as IDEA, FERPA, Title IX, Arizona’s Open Meeting Law, and Public Records Law. Her experience also includes investigations related to allegations of child abuse and unprofessional conduct, negotiating with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Arizona Department of Education, and Arizona State Board for Charter Schools to resolve notices of intent to revoke charters and alleged violations of the Open Meeting Law, statutes pertaining to special education, and other laws applicable to public schools. She has assisted in resolving disputes during the IEP process and has defended schools in special education due process hearing. She also provides training to employers and school administrators regarding personnel policies and handbooks, employee discipline and termination, and student and employee harassment and discrimination.
Ms. Rader also has significant experience working with nonprofit organizations, including resolving disputes between officers and directors, and advising officers and directors regarding their fiduciary duties. She has experience litigating matters between current and former directors involving breach of fiduciary duties, breach of contract, conversion, and misappropriation of trade secrets. She also has experience obtaining release of restrictions on gifts when the restriction is impracticable.
Ms. Rader has previously served as Adjunct Professor at Arizona State University where she co-taught a graduate-level course on school law for administrators, focusing on special education, student rights, and child abuse reporting and investigation.
Practice Areas
• Employment Law
• Education Law
• Commercial Litigation
• Directors and Officers Litigation
Representative Experience
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of a multi-national package delivery company in federal court proceedings involving claims of disability discrimination and various state law violations.
• Negotiated a successful resolution of a sex discrimination pattern and practice suit brought the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against credit union.
• Represented a national hotel chain in connection with an unfair employment practices investigation by the Department of Justice.
• Represented a national financial information company in litigation against former employees for unfair competition and violation of restrictive covenants.
• Successfully obtained and defended ex parte temporary restraining order obtained on behalf of non-profit private school against directors
• Obtained favorable result for charter school in an administrative due process hearing involving allegations of failure to provide a free, appropriate public education.
• Successfully defended charter school at a charter revocation hearing, resulting in negotiation of a consent agreement to allow charter school to continue operations under charter contract with the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools
• Published Decision: Collins, et al. v. D.R. Horton, Inc., 505 F.3d 874 (9th Cir. 2007)
Admissions
• Arizona
• U.S. District Court, District of Arizona
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Memberships
• National Council of School Attorneys
• Arizona Council of School Attorneys
• Arizona State Bar, Employment and Labor Law Section