Following her tenure at the DOE, Mariam spent six years with Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, where she expanded her education law practice to represent a broad range of educational institutions, including public school districts, charter schools, independent and religious schools, early childhood programs, institutions of higher education, and New York State-approved nonpublic schools. She advised clients on employment and personnel matters, student records and privacy, admissions, institutional liability, student discipline, special education compliance, procedural safeguards, placement and services, and the many other legal and regulatory issues that arise in educational settings.

At AZ & CB, Mariam leads the firm’s School Law Group, providing counsel to private and nonpublic schools on their day-to-day operations as well as complex legal and regulatory matters. Her approach recognizes that effective school counsel requires more than responding to problems after they arise. She works with school leaders to identify risk, develop sound policies and practices, navigate regulatory obligations, and make legally defensible decisions while remaining mindful of each school’s educational mission and community.

Mariam also plays a significant role in the firm’s special education practice representing students and families. Her extensive experience with the IDEA, FAPE, IEPs, evaluations, programs and placements, procedural safeguards, and special education litigation provides an invaluable perspective in identifying both substantive and procedural failures and developing effective strategies to secure appropriate educational programs and services for students with disabilities.

Mariam’s arrival at AZ & CB also marks a professional reunion. She previously worked with Managing Partner Ariel Zitrin and Partner Christopher Barnett in the DOE’s Special Education Legal Unit, including during her tenure as Director. The three attorneys now bring their collective experience to a practice that approaches education law from an unusually broad perspective: as former senior DOE attorneys, counsel to schools and educational institutions, and advocates for students and families.

This combination of experience allows Mariam to understand not only what the law requires, but how educational decisions are actually made, implemented, challenged, and defended.