Lara Hruska, Founding Partner
Lara Hruska is the founder of Cedar Law and a trial lawyer who represents students and families in high-stakes education and civil rights litigation. She is licensed to practice law in Washington and Oregon and is also admitted in California (inactive).
Her work focuses on holding schools and institutions accountable when they fail to protect the children in their care. Lara’s cases often involve complex issues of student safety, special education, discrimination, and institutional misconduct.
Before becoming a lawyer, Lara spent years working directly with children and families. She taught students from pre-kindergarten through middle school in California, New York, and Louisiana. That classroom experience continues to shape her commitment to protecting students’ rights.
Her multidisciplinary background informs her approach to education law. She holds a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, a Master of Social Work in Child and Family Welfare Policy from Columbia University, a Master of Science in Education in Special and General Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education, and a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Most recently, Lara teaches American Public School Law at the University of Washington School of Law, where she trains the next generation of lawyers to navigate the legal and constitutional issues that shape public education.
Lara has been recognized every year by Washington Super Lawyers since 2017 for her work in civil rights and education law. She served in leadership roles with the Washington Council of School Attorneys, Washington Women Lawyers, the Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association (MAMAs) of Seattle, and the Chartwell School in Monterey, California.
A recording of her oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a special education case can be viewed here.
