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.
Mike Smith, PartnerMike Smith is an attorney with more than 20 years of experience addressing the needs of students, employees, and families across multiple areas of education law.
Mike represents children in cases of sexual and physical abuse, assault, and harassment; advocates for students and employees who have faced discrimination or civil rights violations; and seeks accountability and recovery for physical, psychological, or other harm suffered by
clients in K-12 or higher education settings. more
Elicia Johnson, Partner
Elicia Johnson focuses her practice on employment disputes involving educators and professionals working in educational settings. She represents teachers, administrators, and other employees facing discrimination, retaliation, nonrenewal, workplace investigations, and other employment-related disputes.
Elicia also represents students and families in civil rights and tort cases arising in schools. In addition, she handles a select number of special education matters, particularly those involving dyslexia and evidence-based literacy instruction. more
Ryan Ford, Partner
Ryan joined Cedar Law in 2023. Prior to joining Cedar, Ryan spent the past six years managing his own law firm providing representation to students and parents in the public school, charter school, private school, college, and university settings. He is licensed to practice law in Washington and California. Ryan received his Juris Doctor degree from University of San Diego School of Law, where he clerked in the Education and Disability Legal Clinic. Ryan works on a wide range of education legal issues with his primary focus being on special education and disability related matters. He is particularly experienced in handling federal appeals of special education matters and prevailed in a published state appellate decision on a Washington Public Records Act matter. more.
Whitney Hill, Partner
Whitney Hill has been with Cedar Law since 2019, representing students and families in special education and civil rights cases. She has particular expertise in matters involving Deaf students, parents, and teachers, as well as cases addressing restraint and isolation in schools. Whitney is passionate about seeking justice for those most marginalized in the education system and is grateful for the opportunity to do this work every day. more
Alex Hagel, Partner
Alex brings years of experience working with students to his work at Cedar Law PLLC. Alex graduated from the University of Washington School of Law, where he worked in the Children and Youth Advocacy Clinic representing homeless and low-income children in the dependency system. During law school, Alex also interned with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Civil Rights Division, and with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, enforcing civil rights laws that protect students from discrimination. more
Luke Hackenberg, Senior Associate
Luke graduated cum laude from the Seattle University School of Law in 2021. He joined Cedar Law immediately out of law school after working for the firm for three years when he was a law student. During his time in law school, he also worked for the Housing Justice Project, assisting low-income clients facing eviction. Prior to law school, Luke earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Reed College. more.
Sydney Arizona Bay, Senior Associate
Sydney’s passion for educational justice stems from her time as a middle school science teacher. She is a proud trial lawyer and advocate who represents students and families in education and civil rights litigation. She is licensed to practice in Washington and is provisionally licensed in Oregon through the SPPE program. Se habla español!
Before joining Cedar Law, Sydney was a Washington Assistant Attorney General practicing juvenile litigation.
more.
Rachel Sugar, Associate
Kaitlin Leifur-Masterson, Associate
Kaitlin Leifur-Masterson has been working in the legal field since she moved to Seattle in 2012, after graduating Cum Laude with a BA in English from Boston University. Kaitlin later earned an MFA in Creative Writing and Poetics from the University of Washington. In 2023, Kaitlin proudly completed Washington’s APR 6 program under the supervision of her mentor, Chris Williams, and became an attorney in 2024. more.
Chloe Palmer, Associate
Chloe studied special education at The Ohio State University before becoming an attorney. Prior to joining Cedar Law, she worked at several disability nonprofits where she represented students in special education matters. Based in Boise, Chloe is passionate about making Idaho a place where every student is welcome. Chloe is licensed in Idaho and Washington. more.
Anna “Mickey” Moritz, Of Counsel
Anna has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Colorado and a law degree from the University of Washington School of Law where she graduated Order of the Coif. Aside from a passion for education law issues, she previously spent 10 years working in the area of nonprofit climate law. Anna sits on the executive committee of the Civil Rights Law Section of the WSBA. Anna is licensed in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California. more.
Michelle Mentzer, Emeritus
In 2001, Michelle C. Mentzer was appointed an administrative law judge with the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings. She served there for almost 17 years, the last 10 of which she worked solely on education cases. In May 2018, Ms. Mentzer retired from OAH and worked as a volunteer attorney at the ACLU of Washington through the end of 2018. She joined Cedar Law PLLC in January 2019. more.