Biography

Frances Febres is a Partner in the Oakland, NJ office of Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri & Jacobs, a leading full-service New Jersey law firm with offices in Oakland, Matawan, Somerville and Haddonfield. 

Since 2012, Frances has been representing public school districts in all areas of public education law, including, but not limited to, special education, general education, labor and employment, and school governance. As part of her practice, she works closely with school board members and particularly administrators in providing counsel on day-to-day student, employee and district matters to ensure legal compliance; reviews school board policies, regulations and procedures; reviews employment and third-party services contracts; assesses employee benefit entitlements and accommodations; drafts interlocal agreements; advises as to administrative reorganizations and reductions in force (RIF); assesses tenure and seniority rights; provides counsel as to student residency, harassment, intimidation or bullying (“HIB”) and employee/student discipline matters; and conducts workplace investigations, among other services.  Additionally, she regularly attends school board meetings and guides school boards with respect to School Ethics Act and Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) compliance.

To further assist school boards, administrators and employees, she conducts administrator and employee trainings on topics such as employee evaluations, student records and privacy, HIB, legal updates, special education, general education interventions, and anti-harassment and anti-discrimination, benefits entitlements, and others as requested by school districts to tackle or enhance the staff’s understanding or compliance in particular areas.  

Frances has been selected a Rising Star from Super Lawyers in Schools & Education Law in 2022-2026, and has been selected as the 2026 Education Lawyer for New Jersey.