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Laviano & Gagne
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Laviano & Gagne
Attorneys at Law

Laviano & Gagne Attorneys at LawLaviano & Gagne Attorneys at LawLaviano & Gagne Attorneys at Law
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Attorney Jennifer Laviano

Attorney Jennifer Laviano

While pursuing their entitlements under the IDEA, our clients are often forced to fund significant costs for their children: evaluations, tutoring, consultants, therapies, co-pays, adaptive equipment, and even tuition. Adding lawyer’s fees on top of this can be cost-prohibitive for many families.


We get it.


By creating a boutique “virtual law practice,” The Law Offices of Laviano and Gagne, LLC is able to focus resources on our legal services, rather than the “bricks and mortar” of a traditional law office.  While we have the support of an on-site Office Manager and Legal Assistant, our attorneys and special education advocates are located throughout the State, ready to serve you with as little travel cost as possible. In addition, our use of state-of-the art technology ensures that your  information is secure, efficient, and accessible to you through a “client portal,” through which you can review your child’s educational records and manage your invoices with us.


Attorney Jennifer Laviano is in private practice in Connecticut. Ms. Laviano holds an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and she earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Quinnipiac University School of Law in Hamden, Connecticut.


Read more on how Attorney Laviano became a special education lawyer here:  A Father’s Legacy to Special Education Advocacy


Ms. Laviano has dedicated her law practice entirely to the  representation of children and adolescents with disabilities whose families are in disagreement with their public school districts. Her representation of children with special needs encompasses the full spectrum of Civil Rights advocacy under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), from attendance at IEP Team meetings and  Mediation, to zealous and experienced litigation in Due Process Hearings and Federal Court.


Ms. Laviano is a regular presenter, both locally and nationally, on the subject of the special legal rights of children with disabilities and their entitlement to receive a Free and Appropriate Public  Education. Ms. Laviano is on the Board of Directors of COPAA, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which is the leading national voice on special education rights and advocacy.

Ms. Laviano represents children with special needs throughout the State of Connecticut.

Attorney Jennifer Laviano

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Attorney Melissa Gagne

Attorney Melissa Gagne

Attorney Melissa Gagne holds an undergraduate degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music, a Master’s Degree in English from Connecticut College, a Sixth Year Degree in Education Leadership from  Sacred Heart University, and she earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Attorney Gagne spent twenty years in public education as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal.

Attorney Gagne is a Special Education Lawyer who has dedicated her law practice to the representation of children and adolescents with disabilities whose families are in disagreement with their public school districts. Attorney Gagne also represents students at Expulsion Hearings and in Title IX investigations.  


Attorney Gagne is the Executive Vice President of the Board of Directors for CCARC, a nonprofit agency that provides day and residential services to adults with disabilities in Connecticut. Attorney Gagne is also on the Board of Directors for Special Education Equity for Kids of Connecticut  (SEEK), a nonprofit in Connecticut that lobbies at the State Capitol to improve special education on behalf of Connecticut’s Special Education  students.

Attorney Gagne is married and has three children. Her youngest son, Ryan, has profound Autism.

Attorney Melissa Gagne

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Our Team

Elizabeth Moyse, Of Counsel

Maureen Ciaglo, Office Manager

Elizabeth Moyse, Of Counsel

Elizabeth Moyse, Of Counsel, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fordham University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature, and then  received her Juris Doctorate from the Washington College of Law at  American University. After being admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1991,  Ms. Moyse spent several years representing plaintiffs in asbest

Elizabeth Moyse, Of Counsel, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fordham University with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature, and then  received her Juris Doctorate from the Washington College of Law at  American University. After being admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1991,  Ms. Moyse spent several years representing plaintiffs in asbestos  litigation. During that time, Ms. Moyse also provided pro bono guardian  ad litem services for children who were abused or neglected. In 2001,  Ms. Moyse relocated to Connecticut, where she continued to represent  children as a guardian ad litem through the Bridgeport Probate Court in  matters involving: temporary custody, transfers of guardianship, and  emancipation. Ms. Moyse’s child- centered experience drew her to  representing children with special education needs in IEP meetings,  Mediation, and Due Process.

Special Education Advocate, Julie Swanson

Julie Swanson

Maureen Ciaglo, Office Manager

Elizabeth Moyse, Of Counsel

Parent Advocate Julie Swanson received her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism Broadcasting from the University of Bridgeport, and her  Master’s Degree in Educational Media from Fairfield University. After  her son was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, Ms. Swanson returned to school to obtain a Degree as a Disability Specialist. Ms. Sw

Parent Advocate Julie Swanson received her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism Broadcasting from the University of Bridgeport, and her  Master’s Degree in Educational Media from Fairfield University. After  her son was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, Ms. Swanson returned to school to obtain a Degree as a Disability Specialist. Ms. Swanson is a founding board member of Connecticut Families for Effective  Autism Treatment (CT_FEAT), is an Executive Board Member of the State  of Connecticut department of Education’s Advisory Council on Special  Education, and is a member of the Council of Parent Attorney’s and  Advocates (COPAA), where she serves as Co-Chair of the Media Relations  Committee. She has been representing children with disabilities  throughout the State of Connecticut as a special education advocate  since 1997, and maintains her own advocacy business, Your Special Child,  LLC.

Maureen Ciaglo, Office Manager

Maureen Ciaglo, Office Manager

Maureen Ciaglo, Office Manager

Maureen Ciaglo, Office Manager

Stacey Carroccio, Paralegal

Stacey Carroccio, Paralegal

Susan Murphy, Legal Assistant

Maureen Ciaglo, Office Manager

Susan Murphy, Legal Assistant

Susan Murphy, Legal Assistant

Susan Murphy, Legal Assistant

Susan Murphy, Legal Assistant

Heather Nyberg, Paralegal

Heather Nyberg, Paralegal

Susan Murphy, Legal Assistant

Susan Murphy, Legal Assistant

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The information and materials contained in this Web site do not create and are not intended to create an attorney-client relationship  between you and Laviano & Gagne, LLC. Please be advised that no attorney-client relationship is established until a retainer is executed between you and Laviano & Gagne, LLC. Do not send confidential documents without express prior approval.


Outside links provided on this Web site are done so for informational purposes only. Laviano & Gagne, LLC. is not responsible for the contents or accuracy of the materials linked to this web site.

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