Davina F. Harden

Davina Harden acts as counsel to California public school districts, charter schools, and private schools in all aspects of education law and employment law and works with clients to find practical, innovative, and cost-effective solutions. Ms. Harden has broad expertise in the full array of legal matters pertaining to education and is recognized throughout California as a leader in the field. She works closely with general counsel, senior management, and boards of directors and trustees to provide advice and representation in all areas of the law that affect educational institutions.

Ms. Harden has advised on matters ranging from retirement and compensation plans; endowment issues and management of institutional funds; CDE compliance complaints; renewal, revocation, and administrative and judicial appeal processes to real estate; Proposition 39 facilities requests; financing of capital projects; and energy procurement. Other areas of focus include public governance issues; conflicts of interest; the Brown Act; public employee rights; employment discrimination and sexual harassment; and transactional matters, including negotiating, drafting, and reviewing agreements. Ms. Harden regularly conducts investigations and counsels clients on conducting their own investigations.

Ms. Harden has been advising charter schools since the very early days of the Charter Schools Act and has successfully represented charter school clients in a number of highly complex matters, including representing the only two districts in the state with “Parent Trigger” charter schools. Her work includes analyzing charter petition submittals and negotiating revisions to charter petitions; developing written factual findings and resolutions for action on charter petitions; developing memoranda of understanding and operational agreements with charter operators; and overseeing the creation of dependent charter schools. Additionally, she is a highly sought-after presenter at charter school conferences and events, as well as state-wide conferences including CSBA and CLSBA where she speaks on a variety of issues concerning charter authorizers and related parties.

Practice Areas

Community & Professional

• American Bar Association, Member
• Orange County Bar Association, Member