Timothy A. Collins

Tim currently concentrates his practice in the areas of education law, with a strong emphasis placed on special education, as well as supplemental needs/special needs planning and legal services for the elderly.

He received his bachelor's degree from Empire State College in Syracuse, New York, and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law, where he practiced in the University's Special Education Law Clinic by representing parents and students in special education matters.

After completing law school, Tim joined O'Hara, O'Connell & Ciotoli, where he focuses his efforts in the areas of special education and education law, as well as supplemental/special needs and Medicaid planning. He also practices in the areas of civil rights, human rights, discrimination, labor and employment, legal services for the elderly and general litigation. He is a member of the Elder Law, Trust and Estates and Labor and Employment Sections of New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Onondaga County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, the Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York, the Madison-Cortland ARC, the Estate Planning Council of Central New York, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and the American Association for Justice. He is admitted to practice in New York, the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York and before the Supreme Court of the United States. He also has and continues to serve as a presenter on behalf of Lorman Education Services and the National Business Institute regard topics related to education and special education.

Prior to joining the firm, Tim was an Environmental Conservation Officer for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and he is a former Marine. During his lifetime, he has served in a number of service related capacities for the mentally and physically handicapped.

Tim is a self-confessed golf nut and a fly fishing enthusiast. He and his wife Sherry reside in Cortland where they enjoy various outdoor activities.

Presentations

Special Education: The Tools for Your Professional Success, Lorman, February, 2005

Special Education: Discipline of Students with Special Needs, Lorman, May, 2005

Section 504 vs. the IDEA, Lorman, September, 2005

IDEA's Reauthorization and New York's Regulatory Response, Lorman, December 2005, February, 2006

Working with Uncooperative and Potentially Violent Children: Special Education and the Violent Child, Lorman, December, 2007

Legal Aspects of Managing Autism Spectrum Disorders at School, NBI, February, 2009