Teresa L. Moore

Teresa Moore is Counsel for the Firm, with an emphasis in education law.

Whether she is arguing before the New Jersey Supreme Court, advocating for the rights of children with disabilities, or counseling administrators and other school leaders on education law issues, Teresa is dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights of her clients.

With over 30 years’ experience in litigating “due process” special education cases, Teresa appears regularly in federal and state courts and has tried numerous disputes to conclusion in the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law. She has served as general counsel and special counsel to boards of education, school districts, charter schools, and independent schools, providing legal advice to school leaders on special education, tenure, ethics, governance, employment discrimination, student discipline, student and staff free speech, and the full range of regulatory and administrative issues facing educational institutions.

Teresa has developed a strong niche in representing the families of children who require special services in school. She is committed to helping families navigate the legal proceedings related to their children with disabilities. Her keen insight, nurtured throughout her school law career and also as the mother of two children, brings the law alive in her practice to ensure that children with disabilities obtain the education they deserve. She works with families and specialists to help with educational evaluations, IEP development, and vigorous representation at administrative hearings and appeals. Her background provides a strong foundation to guide and counsel families who are facing challenges in securing the special education services to which their children are entitled.

Prior to joining the firm, Teresa co-created and acted as counsel to LEGAL ONE, a partnership between Rutgers University and the Foundation for Educational Administration. In that capacity, she developed education law courses for K-12 school leaders and presented them throughout New Jersey. Teresa also consulted with the Institute on Education Law and Policy (IELP) at Rutgers University, and she taught education law as an adjunct professor at both Rutgers Law School – Newark and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration. At IELP, she researched and wrote publications including “Governance and Urban School Improvement: Lessons for New Jersey from Nine Cities,” “Shared Services in School Districts: Policies, Practices and Recommendations,” and “Guide to the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum.” She also appeared as a commentator on NJTV for the law and justice series “Due Process.” Teresa presented a radio blog program on the topic of “Transgender Issues in Public Schools for Students and Staff.”

Before serving as counsel to LEGAL ONE and consulting with IELP, Teresa practiced law as a litigator with the law firm of McCarter & English, LLP, in Newark, New Jersey. Her concentrations were in education and employment law, and she also litigated matters involving civil rights, franchise and other contract disputes, products liability, and insurance coverage.

Upon graduation from law school, Teresa served as a law clerk to the Honorable John E. Keefe (ret. J.A.D.) in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division. She holds a J.D. from Rutgers Law School – Newark, was a member of the Rutgers Law Review, and is a graduate of Wellesley College with a B.A. in Spanish and English. She also studied at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.