Daniel M. Fennick

Overview

Daniel Fennick joined CGA Law Firm in an “of counsel” position in 2020. Before he came to the firm, Dan was in private practice for nearly 40 years as a partner at Anderson, Converse and Fennick, a firm he founded in 1981. Dan specialized in education law, particularly special education for children with disabilities, and charter schools. His practice also included estate planning, wills and trusts, and contract drafting and interpretation. Dan is a recipient of many distinguished awards for his work and he is frequently called upon by the media to be a spokesperson on matters related to education law.

Dan is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and all Pennsylvania State Courts.

For the past forty years, Dan has represented children with disabilities and helped them obtain appropriate special education services. He has advocated for children charged with disciplinary offenses, which often has resulted in raising special education issues on their behalf. He has attended hundreds of Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, conferences, and manifestation determination meetings, and filed and prosecuted numerous due process complaints. He has filed civil rights appeals in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Dan has also represented many charter schools in Pennsylvania. In that capacity, he has drafted special education policies, run meetings, and represented the schools in due process hearings. He has testified as an expert on charter schools before the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee.

A graduate of Rutgers University School of Law, Dan began his legal career at Mid Penn Legal Services where he represented low-income individuals in landlord-tenant, family law, and consumer transactions. Teaching is one of Dan’s interests and he has taught many continuing education courses to other attorneys on a variety of topics in the areas of special education law, school discipline, internet law, evidence, and many other areas.

In his spare time, Dan is a jazz guitarist, photographer, woodworker, and tai chi practitioner. Along with CGA colleague, Tom O’Shea, Dan is a long-time member of and contributor to the York County Bar Foundation’s “The Bar Stools,” a satirical performing troupe of attorneys that spoofs politics and the legal profession.