Attorney Michael Basch
Michael Basch has advocated on behalf of children with disabilities for over 30 years, and his practice focuses exclusively on special education. He has represented thousands of families in connection with IEP meetings, resolution meetings, and due process hearings.
Mr. Basch is a past recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Pro Bono service and Philadelphia’s Brighter Futures Award. He has served on boards of many organizations that advocate for children with disabilities. Mr. Basch has lectured widely in the area of special education and dispute resolution.
Mr. Basch earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Duke University and his law degree from Yale Law School. During those years, he took time out to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa and to intern at several prestigious civil rights organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Public Defenders Service in Washington DC. Following law school, Mr. Basch clerked for Hon. U.W. Clemon, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, after which he returned to Philadelphia in 1989, where joined the firm of Fine, Kaplan and Black. There he helped pioneer the practice of pro bono representation of children with special education needs. For over 30 years, Mr. Basch represented thousands of special needs children in Pennsylvania without charging any fees to parents. He is continuing on that path at Education Law Partners.
