Leah Snyder Batchis

Leah is a tireless advocate for the rights of children and adults with special needs. Leah is skilled at developing creative solutions to complicated and sensitive problems in special education, school discipline, guardianship and public benefits matters.

Her special education law practice at Batchis Nestle & Reimann includes counseling and litigation under The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504, and other federal and state statutes and regulations protecting the educational rights of children. She represents parents in all stages of education negotiation and litigation, from IEP meetings to resolution meetings/settlement conferences, due process hearings, and discipline proceedings such as manifestation hearings. Leah has obtained noteworthy results for families, including most recently three victories following due process hearings before Pennsylvania Hearing Officers.

Leah also represents Parents and students at truancy hearings and in proceedings before the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services regarding public benefits issues.

In addition to helping families resolve conflicts with schools, Leah's practice at Batchis Nestle & Reimann includes counseling families on the full range of benefits available to them. She assists clients to access health and other public benefits such as Medicaid (called Medical Assistance in Pennsylvania). She has successfully handled appeals of denial of medicaid waiver and other benefits. Leah also assists clients with powers of attorney, living wills and all aspects of guardianship proceedings

Prior to co-founding Batchis Nestle & Reimann LLC, Leah practiced at another special education law firm. Leah also worked for five years in the litigation department and health care practice group of the Philadelphia law firm, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP. Her practice included representing reproductive and community health clinics in regulatory compliance matters as well as representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial litigation and appeals. Before joining Schnader, Leah clerked for the honorable Paul S. Diamond of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Leah has also worked in the Public Benefits & Welfare Law Unit at Community Legal Services where she helped clients access Social Security and Medical Assistance, as well as advocated for increased access to health care for children in Pennsylvania. Leah also represented clients with disabilities at Temple Legal Aid where she drafted powers of attorney, advanced directives and other life and estate planning documents.

Leah is a magna cum laude graduate of Temple University, Beasley School of Law and a graduate of Vassar College with a B.A. in History and German Studies. Before law school, Leah served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco and worked at Human Rights Watch in the Empire State Building, New York City. Also while in college at Vassar, she spent two years living abroad in Berlin, Germany.

Leah now lives with her husband Wayne, a professor at the University of Delaware, and two children in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. She is a steering committee member of Specialists of Schools (SOS), an active member of Mt. Airy USA and has served on the board of The Big Backyard Nursery School.

Education

J.D., magna cum laude, Temple University, Beasley School of Law, 2006
B.A., Vassar College, 1999

Court Admissions

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Professional Affiliations

Philadelphia Bar Association
Council of Parent Attorney and Advocates, Inc. (COPAA)

Honors

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® Rising Star, Thomson Reuters published annually in Philadelphia Magazine, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015
The First Judicial District’s Pro Bono Roll of Honor 2010
Rubin Public Interest Honor Society Fellow Temple University
Lead Articles Editor, Temple Law Review
Jack M. Golden and Frieda Golden Prize for Superior legal research & writing in health law
Nat N. Wolfsohn Memorial Award for outstanding grades in the field of real property law
Jerry Zaslow Memorial Award for outstanding academic achievement & law school activities

Publications

Guardianship for Grown Kids, Metrokids (May 2013)
Want More Feedback? Ask for it!, The Legal Intelligencer, First Year Associate Supplement (July 1, 2011)
Reasonable Break Time for Breastfeeding Mothers Clarified, Society for Human Resource Management Legal Report (February 28, 2011)
Comment, Can Lawsuits Help the Uninsured Access Affordable Hospital Care? 78 TEMP. L. REV. 493 (2005)

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