Education

University At Buffalo, B.A. in Pre-Law Legal Studies / Philosophy

Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law, J.D., Civil Litigation Track

Admissions

New York State

Samuel L. P. Shepard, Esq. serves as Staff Attorney and Special Education Litigation Unit Director at WNYFACES, where he supports families and individuals across Western New York in securing meaningful access, appropriate services, and enforceable educational rights. His work is grounded in a rare blend of professional training and lived experience: Samuel is not only an attorney practicing in the special education space, he is also someone whose life was shaped by the special education system itself.

From an early age, Samuel was immersed in the special education environment. As both a Student with an IEP and the son of Brenda Shepard, Samuel began participating and attending CSE meetings and Due Process Hearings while still in elementary school. By middle school, he was not only learning the procedural framework of special education disputes, but actively advocating in his own due process matters on the record. As he grew older, that self-advocacy naturally evolved into peer advocacy; as by high school he was assisting classmates and families navigating disability-related barriers in school, helping them understand their rights, communicate and advocate on their behalf, and stand up against injustice and disability discrimination he witnessed at an early age.

If you asked Samuel what he wanted to do with his life in elementary school, middle school, and high-school, he would have immediately told you he wanted to go to school to become an attorney and continue to advocate on behalf of parents and children with disabilities, likely due to the high immersion of law and special education at such an early age, and he did exactly that.

During his undergraduate years, Samuel began supporting parents and community members through WNYFACES under the guidance of Brenda Shepard and Sheila Barr, assisting families with special education planning and advocacy needs. He received course credit interning with WNYFACES through the University At Buffalo, acquiring more than 250 hours of direct litigation experience prior to graduating with his bachelors degree specifically tailored towards Pre-Law, including components such as Philosophy, and Sociology. While in law school, he focused that experience into formal legal training and organizational development, restructuring WNYFACES into a non-profit legal aid model designed to provide families meaningful access to special education representation and rights-based advocacy. Prior to his completion of Law School and admittance to the New York State Bar, Samuel worked under the direct supervision of Paul T. Bumbalo, Esq., a seasoned attorney with over 44 years of legal practice, who also served as a New York State Impartial Hearing Officer for over 20 years, and his 20 plus years as an elected Village Justice. Due to the gracious trust, mentorship, and collaboration under Paul, Samuel was able to gain unique knowledge from an Impartial Hearing Officer and longstanding family and education attorney, going on to win due process hearings while still in Law School and studying for the Bar Exam. Today, Samuel’s work spans IDEA, Section 504, the ADA, New York’s implementing regulations, and civil rights & discrimination, with an emphasis on due process litigation, CPSE/CSE meeting advocacy, evaluations, IEP development and implementation, placement disputes, and systemic accountability.

Samuel approaches each matter with a unique dual perspective: the rigor of an attorney passionate in this field of law, and the lived understanding of someone shaped by the special education system. He further sets an example to children with disabilities who have IEPs, that your disability does not define you, and with enough effort, commitment, hard work, and the provision of appropriate special education and related services, any goal is achievable, even becoming a high level professional such as an Attorney. His mission is to ensure families are not forced to navigate high-stakes educational decisions alone—and that students with disabilities receive services that are appropriate, enforceable, and delivered with dignity one child/family at a time.