Amanda O’Neal is an extraordinary attorney and a trusted advisor to our family.

I am writing to extend my deepest gratitude and highest recommendation for Amanda O’Neal of the Tollner Law Firm, who provided exceptional legal services to support the special education process for my daughter for more than five years.

Amanda has been a dedicated advocate, walking with us through every step of the complex and often emotionally charged process of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), communications with schools, and securing appropriate services to enable our child’s success. Her unwavering commitment and expert guidance have been instrumental in navigating the intricacies of the special education system.

Amanda’s advice and support have profoundly impacted our family, preparing us to be strong advocates for our daughter after her high school graduation. Her dedication to our child’s well-being has forever changed her life for the better. Thanks to Amanda’s expertise, our child is now attending college through a supportive program and living independently, a testament to the positive outcomes that can be achieved through the public special education process with the help of good counsel.

The special education system can be a daunting maze, but having a partner like Amanda to lead you through it is the best advocacy decision we made. Her support ensured that our daughter cleared the hurdles on her path to realizing her limitless possibilities.

Thank you, Amanda, for making us believe in and achieve a positive outcome. Your dedication and expertise have made an indelible impact on our family’s journey.

Fremont Unified School DistrictFremont, CA

David was very knowledgeable and professional from day one. His knowledge of the nuances of the legal process and the investment he made in understanding the specifics of our case was exemplary. Throughout the process, we felt that he had the best interest of our child in mind. Our early sense was that we were in safe hands when we signed up with him and this was confirmed through all our interactions and, ultimately, when we got the desired outcome for our child in the case.

CUSDcupertino

We found this office through a parent group that we trust a great deal. Wd’d never needed representation for an IEP and so didn’t know what to expect. We were very pleased with the process and outcome. Our attorney, Amanda O’Neil was all the things you want: professional, thorough and friendly. The thing we appreciated most was how easy it was to reach her and how quickly she responded to any/all of our questions. Her involvement in our IEP process is THE reason we were able to get the placement our child needed. It’s no fun to have a contentious relationship with the school district. Thanks to Amanda our relationship is good with the district and our child is thriving. We highly recommend this office.

Santa Cruz CitySanta Cruz

‘I will be singing glorious praises of David Tollner. Amanda was also very helpful when David wasn’t around. Sometimes God provide us angels to guide us in our most painful time of need and I truly believe David was that angel. We have been struggling for the past 3 years following the recommendations of the school district. She has been to 3 different therapeutic day schools yet the progress was very slow. Our lives were becoming so stressful and felt couldn’t cope anymore or help our daughter. We needed external help where our daughter could be in a structured environment where trained and compassionate individuals were there to help her 24/7. Our 15 yr old daughter was an honor roll student but last 3 years due to her excessive absences, her GPA was only 1.5 last year for yr 9. Her GPA is 4.0 now since she was admitted into the RTC. He was referred to us by our family therapist. I had tried to research and look into RTCs but was totally overwhelmed after many hours and yet unsure which would be a good fit for our daughter. David is a very skilled SE attorney but what impressed me most was his compassion, understanding, kindness and patience. He would patiently explained things to me again even when I was unsure. He was very responsive at all times and guided us on this stressful journey. When we met him for the first time, he patiently explained the strategy, how the system works and what needed to happen to go forward. I felt comfortable to call or email him anytime and he would respond very quickly to calm our fears or answer any questions we have. He even coached us WHAT and WHEN we needed to say whilst in the IEP meetings. He helped us get our daughter into one of the best RTC, in my opinion. Yes we paid David for his services but it was totally worth it as it resulted in the school district totally funding our daughter’s placement which is sooooooo much more. Our daughter is happy with the placement but naturally is overwhelmed, homesick, misses us and home but I feel she’s in a place where she will have lots of people who can help her 24/7. If you need someone who can truly help you when you feel most helpless and vulnerable, please give him a call. I am certain he can help you as he did us. God Bless David Tollner!

California

Attorney Amanda O’Neal goes above and beyond! She helped me resolve my complicated child special needs issues with the school district, or with any questions, I might have. She is extremely patient and thorough, updates were always available.
She helped keep me calm through the whole process. I was truly blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Amanda O’Neal, she is awesome!!
I wouldn’t think twice about recommending Attorney Amanda O’Neal, extremely knowledgeable and easy to work with.

Belmont-Redwoodshores DistrictBelmont, CA

Where to begin. Our child has had an IEP since second grade and never really got the type or level of support she needed. We finally had enough of her IEP team dragging their feet and seemingly talking in circles and hired a special educational lawyer. Unfortunately, our initial lawyer didn’t seem to “get” our child or her needs. After a year, we turned to Tollner Law Offices and worked first with James S. and then with David T. to evaluate and help remedy our child’s situation.

David and his team are outstanding results-oriented professionals. David is extremely capable and reassuring. He responded to our queries in a timely manner and kept us in the loop as to what was happening and what to (likely) expect next. He knows what to do and how to work with school districts and their lawyers. The journey over the years (since second grade) was a long and frustrating experience with repeated rounds of go-nowhere, do-not-much IEP meetings. Having David to navigate and guide us step-by-step led to a very satisfactory and successful outcome, for which we are forever grateful. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!)

I highly recommend Tollner Law Offices

San Jose Unified School DistrictSan Jose, CA

Tollner Law Offices

4.4

Based on 18 Reviews

Sage B.

2024-04-07 09:17:59

I was referred to Marc, a senior attorney at this firm who seemed to be very knowledgable and understanding. Unfortunately I was passed off to Kelly, a...

Amie D.

2021-11-30 22:32:03

Devan has changed our lives. The best decision we have ever made was to hire Devan with Tollner Law. She fought hard for my son and really was there through...

April M.

2021-10-01 01:41:22

Absolute worst experience. This is regarding Sibley only. He is very arrogant and ended up getting us a very poor outcome. He was extremely unprofessional....

Stacey S.

2020-10-13 09:01:18

Tollner Law Offices is the go-to firm for special education in the Bay Area. I'm very happy with their help because I believe they achieved an outcome I had...

V P.

2020-06-19 10:15:24

We have been with Tollner Law offices for 3 years. We are very happy with their service. There are several attorneys that collaborate very well with each...

Michael A.

2018-07-02 16:15:36

David is a very heartfilled and caring person who will deliver results!We found David and his staff online after going through some wild issues to say the...

Lili H.

2015-06-08 18:03:56

As an attorney myself, it's new and different for me to be consuming legal services. Very insightful. David and his associate, Sarah, are thoughtful,...

Stacey B.

2015-05-04 12:59:20

This is a long overdue review I'm very new to Yelp so racking my brain on who I want to review and share my experience with and this attorney is one of...