MITCH SICKON, ESQ.
Mitch Sickon is a dedicated, experienced, and client-centered attorney and counselor who has committed his career to pursuing justice for his clients.
After graduating from the University of Michigan as an undergraduate and receiving his law degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Mitch worked as a legal aid attorney in the Four Corners region for several years, representing folks in family law matters and acting as a guardian ad litem for children in abuse and neglect cases.
After returning to Michigan with his family to make sure that his children had the opportunity to make meaningful memories with their grandparents and extended family, Mitch added representing students with disabilities to his practice at Disability Rights Michigan (DRM). For seven years, Mitch worked on civil rights cases for students with disabilities in Michigan’s administrative forum and in federal district courts, at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and at the Supreme Court of the United States of America. He frequently co-counseled with Liz Abdnour and Jacquelyn Kmetz during his time at DRM.
During his time at Chalgian & Tripp, Mitch worked as a probate litigator, a special education consultant, and sought to add elements of elder law and estate planning to his practice.
Having returned to advocating for students with disabilities, Mitch is greatly satisfied knowing he is back to working with Liz and Jacquelyn, while getting to know the rest of the wonderful team at AW Law.
In his free time, he enjoys raising his four wonderful children alongside his wonderful wife, corralling the family’s chickens and dog, playing soccer, and dozing off in lakeside hammocks, or at least, daydreaming of the same while he shovels snow and chops firewood.
Education
University of Michigan, B.A.
University of Colorado-Boulder, J.D.
Bar Admissions
Michigan, Eastern and Western Federal District Courts of Michigan, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of the United States, New Mexico (inactive), Navajo Nation (inactive)
Practice Areas
k12 Student Suspension + Expulsions, Title IX Investigation, Hearings, and Litigation, Special Education, and College Student Rights, Code of Conduct, Academic Misconduct
Affiliations
State Bar of Michigan, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Ingham County Bar Association
Presentations + Trainings
A History of Perez v. Sturgis – Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, Baltimore, MD - March 23, 2023
Returning to School in Fall 2020 – Michigan DD Council Town Hall, Virtual Training - October 8, 2020
Educational Rights and the Courts – Juvenile Justice Workers Annual Conference, Traverse City, MI - September 21, 2019
School to Work: Transitioning from an IEP to an IPE – Hopi Annual Disability Conference, Keams Canyon, AZ - April 15, 2016
Recent Representative Cases for Mitch Sickon*
Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. 142, 143 S.Ct. 859 (2023) In 2017, DRM attorneys helped Miguel file a case in administrative court, seeking relief under the ADA and the IDEA for Sturgis Public Schools’ failure to provide Miguel with a qualified sign language interpreter for 12 years. After receiving Miguel’s complaint, the administrative court first dismissed the ADA claim, and then later, Sturgis Public Schools and Miguel settled the IDEA claim. Miguel then filed suit in federal court, seeking money damages under the ADA for his past harm. The federal court dismissed Miguel’s ADA claim for failure to seek remedies for his IDEA claims in the administrative forum all the way through an administrative hearing. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision, even though Miguel had received complete relief for his IDEA claims and his ADA claim, seeking money damages not available under IDEA, was previously dismissed. The Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of Miguel’s ADA claim. Soon after the case was returned to the federal district court for the Western District of Michigan, Miguel and the school district reached a favorable settlement.
A.B., by and through K.B. and R.B., v. Mich. Dep’t of Educ., 570 F.Supp.3d 531 (W.D. Mich 2021) A.B. tried to use the state complaint system to address his special education concerns with his local district in the upper peninsula. MDE twice investigated his local district—both times finding violations and ordering correction of noncompliance. A third time, MDE found itself out of compliance for failing to bring the local district into compliance. The next stop was bringing a due process complaint on A.B.’s behalf. After a settlement at the due process level with the local school district (affording the client a structured compensatory education program with expert involvement), DRM filed in federal district court against MDE in December 2019. Nearly two years later, mid-pandemic, we received an order denying MDE’s motion to dismiss on exhaustion grounds. MDE and A.B. settled soon after, providing him funds for an educational trust and changing several policies at MDE concerning the state complaint process.
*The cases filed above and/or the outcomes in those cases are not necessarily indicative of what could be expected in any other matter, as the circumstances of each case are unique and involve multiple factors to consider whether valid legal claims exist and what outcomes are possible.