School Law Attorney, Ricardo Soto, Joins BB&K San Diego

Ricardo J. Soto has joined Best Best & Krieger LLP’s (BB&K) San Diego office as of counsel in the firm’s school law practice group.  BB&K’s school attorneys represent school districts, offices of education and other education institutions as general and special counsel in state and federal courts and before state and federal administrative agencies.

Soto has practiced school law, with an emphasis on school accountability, charter schools, employment issues, special education and student issues, for more than ten years.  He has also been involved in legal issues concerning higher education, the Fair Political Practices Act, the Brown Act and redistricting election districts.

Prior to joining BB&K, Soto was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in August 2005 and served as Assistant Secretary of Education and Legal Counsel in the Office of the Secretary of Education through February 2007.  He advised the Governor’s Office and the Office of the Secretary of Education on policy and legal issues involving legislative and regulatory proposals concerning school accountability, academic achievement, charter schools, community colleges, curriculum and instruction, student financial aid issues, and teacher credentialing and preparation programs.

From 1997 to 2005, Soto was in-house counsel at San Diego Unified School District.  He was responsible for legal support of District initiatives and reforms, and provided technical expertise and assistance to the Board of Education, Superintendent and senior staff.

“The depth of Ricardo’s expertise in school issues is second to none,” states Shawn Hagerty, managing partner of BB&K’s San Diego office. “He is a welcomed addition to our firm and our school law practice.”

Soto received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1993.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Marquette University in Wisconsin in 1989.