Partner

Alex Rodriguez has committed his legal career to special education, civil rights and disability law. Alex is known for his remarkable work as a litigator and advocate for the education and civil rights of students with special needs. Alex was announced as the newest partner of the Law Offices of Hirji & Chau, LLP on February 2nd, 2024. 

Alex’s practice includes special education, civil rights, and personal injury matters on behalf of children, youth and adults with disabilities. He focuses on public entity negligence, representing youth who are bullied, enforcing due process rights of students, the civil and disability rights of foster children, litigation and policy-making. He handles cases at all levels of the litigation process, from IEP meetings through trial and appeal. He handles complex matters that involve other co-counsel and multiple defendants. He facilitates discussions with the parents and children that he represents regarding their desired outcome and strives to accomplish these goals to the highest possible degree.

When he is not working on cases, Alex enjoys spending time cooking, hiking, and bike riding with his wife and dog. Alex loves being outdoors and as an adrenaline junkie, he loves doing extreme sports and one of his life goals is to go skydiving.

Alex grew up in Chino Hills, California with his father, a principal, mother, a special education teacher, and older brother. Prior to becoming an attorney, Alex worked as a high school math teacher at Great Oaks Charter School in Newark, New Jersey. He attended Cornell University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Psychology. He always knew that his career would be centered around helping others. His brother, a lawyer himself, introduced Alex to the field of law. The challenging nature of advocacy and the thrill of fighting for others in the courtroom made this career choice a perfect match for this adrenaline chaser.

Alex is a graduate of Loyola Law School, where he received a concentration in Criminal Justice. At Loyola Law School, Alex was active in Loyola’s Project for Innocence Clinic and Loyola’s Young Lawyers Program. Alex interned with Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, and served a clerkship with Honorable Victor Chavez, Judge of the Superior Court of California. Alex was admitted to the California Bar in 2018 and is admitted to practice before both the California State courts, and the United States District Courts.

Alex’s upbringing and work experience drive him to make an impact for his clients before they age out of special education services. The work that he does has changed how he looks at the system as a whole, and has shown him that “if one cog fails, it’s a domino effect of injustice.” For Alex, change comes one case at a time. However, as he works on what others might regard as small issues, Alex never loses sight of the bigger picture of “reworking policy at a higher level.”

Alex never backs down, always works hard with his team, and together they are able to overcome any challenges. His calm nature in the small firm's office may be initially unassuming, but he is fearless and determined. His colleagues are amazed by his efficiency, and ability to direct cases seamlessly towards the goal. Mr. Rodriguez is able to roll with the punches as new challenges are presented in any case, and his tenacity towards his adversarial counterparts makes him a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom.

D v. SMMSD (2024) (Won) - Alex represented student “D” in a wrongful expulsion hearing against Santa Monica School District. The district did not present any evidence or witnesses to back up their accusations that the student had brought a gun to school. The district expelled the student but Alex appealed to the Los Angeles Office of Education who overturned the expulsion and readmitted the student to the district. The client's record was expunged for all incidents related to the expulsion.  

C v. CUSD (2023) (Lost) - Alex represented student “C” in a 17 day negligence trial against Compton Unified School District before the court of appeals. The client was attacked by another student and fought back. The teacher in charge of the classroom was untrained and tried to physically break up the fight without trying to de-escalate the problem or call in additional resources to stop the assault. While trying to break up the fight the teacher fell on top of the student and broke their leg. Alex was able to develop more jury trial experience. He delivered the opening statement and cross examined witnesses and experts. He also argued all “motions in limine” and successfully defended a motion for summary judgment. 

S v. MUSD (2022) (Won) - Alex represented student “S” against Menifee Union School District for a wrongful expulsion that resulted because the client brought a knife to school. Menifee School District failed to identify that the student was in need of special education services under child find policies and therefore failed to prevent the issue. Alex advocated for the client at an OH hearing which ordered that the students expulsion to be overturned. The school district was also ordered to set up the students' new educational program moving forward. LOHC also filed a civil suit against the district that was later settled. 

FM v. LAUSD (2022) (Won) - Alex represented student “FM” against Los Angeles Unified School District in an OH Hearing that resulted in a favorable settlement. LOHC also filed a civil lawsuit alleging disability discrimination when the student had a behavioral incident in school. The teacher conflated an incident of predictable behavior for the student and called the police to arrest the student on campus. The school knew the client had these disability related behaviors and instead of addressing it, the teacher alienated the student by instigating the situation and not following the behavior  intervention plan in place. The student left campus out of anger and was later arrested by the police in front of their peers when they returned.Instead of deescalating the students behavior, the school inflicted emotional distress, pain, and suffering that traumatized the client and denied them their right to an education. The client eventually graduated during the pandemic. 

H v. OUSD (2021) (Won) -Alex represented student “H” in litigation against Orange Unified School District for abuse and negligence that took place at the client's school, Olive Crest Academy. The client, an elementary student in special education, required a more restrictive placement outside of normal education setting, so the district contracted with a nonpublic school, Olive Crest Academy. The school district was required to oversee that the school was implementing the students IEP. After a while the student started expressing fear about school and reported that they no longer wanted to attend school because of the mistreatment happening with staff. It was later discovered that the school had been brutally restraining the student by their limbs and locking the student alone in a dark classroom on multiple occasions. The case was settled.