TGS Watch understands that an attorney is both a zealous advocate and a wise counsel to his clients. Since we aren't a party to any lawsuit with the The Galloway School, we don't have any particular insight regarding the performance of TGS attorney Jay Aldis as a zealous advocate. That said, TGS Watch is willing to give Mr. Aldis the benefit of the doubt. We believe Mr. Aldis has been dealt an extremely poor hand in Solt et. al. v. The Galloway School et. al., and that he is playing that poor hand as ably as he can.
But there is more to being an attorney than just zealously advocating his clients' legal position(s) in pending lawsuit(s). A good attorney is also capable of providing wise counsel on both legal and extralegal matters. One of Mr. Aldis' clients is The Galloway School itself. Mr. Aldis should be representing The Galloway School in the narrow matter of the existing lawsuit as well as broader issues pertaining to The Galloway School's interests.
In the opinion of TGS Watch, the current course of events threaten The Galloway School's existence as an going concern. In other words, there is a meaningful chance that The Galloway School may close as a result of lawsuits, management decisions, and the resulting decisions of TGS families pursuing their own interests.
Jay Aldis of Bracewell & Giuliani represents The Galloway School. It is time (perhaps past time) for Mr. Aldis to provide the School's leadership (Board of Trustees) advice on how to navigate TGS' broader interests. Mr. Aldis should consider it a failure if his client, The Galloway School, ceases operations and closes. Zealously defending The Galloway School in the narrow matter of the current lawsuit (and possible future lawsuits) is absolutely necessary. But it is not sufficient. Mr. Aldis also needs to counsel The Galloway School as an organization on matters that affect its very survival.
Many people, the author of TGS Watch included, want The Galloway School to thrive. In order for TGS to thrive, the current leadership needs to change its behavior in matters that extend far beyond Solt v. The Galloway School. Sadly, we are painfully aware that the current leadership of The Galloway School is pursuing its own interests to the detriment of the school itself. It doesn't help that Ms. Cerace has an adversarial relationship with the truth. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Cerace has made untruthful statements to her attorney, Mr. Aldis. A proper fitting of an attorney's wise counsel hat would require Mr. Aldis to address the concerns that extend beyond Solt vs. The Galloway School as well as the lawsuit itself. Mr. Aldis, as wise counsel, must determine if he can effectively represent the interests of The Galloway School as well as the competing interests of Bonnie Cerace, Bambi Teaff and Dot Woodfin.
TGS Watch will evaluate the performance of Mr. Aldis and will continue to opine on his effectiveness on these pages.
12 comments:
What you said about the attorney being dealt a poor hand - you got that right! I also agree that the future of the school is at risk; not just because of the Solt lawsuit, but for a host of other reasons unrelated to this lawsuit. Reasons which have been made known and discussed by parents on this blog at length.
Providing Mr. Aldis would offer wise counsel to the leadership of TGS - Would Ms. Cerace actually listen? Would she take the appropriate steps to restore the school's reputation? This seems doubtful, considering her past behavior.
Regarding her "adversarial relationship with the truth," it is my opinion that this woman would not know the truth if it were a brick wall she collided with. I believe that Bonnie Cerace thinks if she decides something or says something, then it's true! No matter what she actually knows in her heart to be true, and however far from the actual truth her words and actions may be. What type of behavior is this? I would be willing to bet that it is highly LIKELY she has made untruthful statements to her attorney, and to the board. Or perhaps, lying by omission. Could it be that this type of behavior "worked for her" in the past? I guess it doesn't work anymore, apparently. People do not like to be deceived, lied to (or lied about). Enough is enough.
I sincerely hope that Mr. Aldis uses his position and influence to provide wise counsel to TGS on a broader scale beyond the scope of the Solt lawsuit. The future of the school appears to be at stake, due to the dire predicament(s) placed upon it by its leadership. You would think the school board members and Mr. Aldis would be very concerned.
Were I Jay Aldis, I would wash my hands of The Galloway School and Bonnie Cerace as fast as possible. I don't care if I earn $400 an hour. They have got to be the clients from Hell. The ability to tell untruths to parents and students with a straight face did not just start with this case. A good attorney, which I believe Aldis to be, would eventually realize that Cerace and the truth are such distant strangers that representing her is a lost cause from moment one, when Kim James took the case. Hey...maybe that's why Kim James is gone. Any other thoughts?
Never will 17 clients be completely aligned. Wise counsel would be even wiser to inform the clients of this. Good people may be dragged down because they don't know what to do. This is where wise counsel steps in and tells them their options. Are you listening, counsel? You have more than one client here.
If the case becomes too difficult to defend because of an uncooperative client, then an attorney will remove himself from the case. I don't believe Mr. Aldis has reached that point, but may get there soon enough. Even in that case, another lawyer will simply replace him, as long as the Galloway school can afford them. I would imagine that it would be better to spend the tuition money on curriculum development and improving the technology level at the school. For a supposedly elite private school, there are some significant deficiencies.
New blog. The more information we can disseminate, the better:
http://gallowayschool.blogspot.com/
I saw the agenda for the PTO meeting tomorrow night. It does not seem like they will officially discuss any "difficult" topics. I wonder if any of the parents will have the courage to ask the difficult questions? It is obvious that the problems are not isolated, or limited to a select few. I keep hearing from Bonnie's proxies that a lawsuit against the blogs and me is being prepared. Bonnie, and Jay Aldis, what is taking so long? Do it now. As quickly as you can. I have been ready to respond for quite some time now. I am at least one person you will never successfully bully. I have full time attorneys working for me, my sister is an attorney, and I have very good personal attorneys. I know the law well enough to say that you have more to fear from me than I do of you. I have truth on my side. Also, Bonnie thank you for making defamatory statements about me, my wife, and my son to several parents. He continues to suffer the consequences of that in public. How pitiful that you and some of your teachers would do such things to a child. You know who I am. Come after me instead. I could care less about what you say about me or my wife, but I will make you pay for what you have done to my son. You will find out what I mean when we lock horns in court. This will definitely not be a good Summer for you.
Who is paying for all the legal fees? Will tuition go up?
That is the question of the year. Where is all the money to pay for this coming from?
Well... the income for the school comes from tuition, paid by the parents! I guess the only other source of cash would be Mrs. Galloway? Perhaps parents should ask Bonnie or Dot where the money is coming from to pay legal fees. But getting a straight answer might prove to be futile.
Mr. Khan, I have been following this blog since it first started out with the sexual harassment claim by Lori Solt. It is ironic and sad that it has turned into a medium for you and a small faction of like thinking people with the intent of trying to destroy people's reputation for your own greedy intentions. we are alike in one way – we both have money. From my objective viewpoint, I see that you are an angry man who is using this blog to use scare tactics and bribery (offering to credit parents for the tuition they have already paid to Galloway if they will come to your school and offering to pay attorney fees if they wanted to sue) to build a school that is non-existent at this time and has no credibility. And you plan to do this in a matter of months based on your word alone. I find this amusing. What do you really know about education? Do you really expect to fill your positions for the school and have a quality curriculum ready in a matter of a few months? Rather ambitious to say the least even for an educational expert whom I don't believe you are. While you are determined to pour your money in a disparaging manner by tearing down people and the school, I prefer to put my money into finding out more about these individuals and the school and at the very Ieast provide additional information so parents can weigh their decision about education for their children in a more honest approach. By the way Mr. Khan, I must say that condoning the publishing of Mrs.Galloway's home phone number and asking people to call her to complain when you are aware she is L00 years old is unwarranted and speaks volumes about your character. I must admit this has served as a catalyst for me to get involved in this situation. One other thing, I do not believe that all newspaper articles are accurate nor do I believe that HISD's ambiguous documents as you presented them are complete and I further question their accuracy. Some things just do not add up. To the parents of Galloway: do not panic and succumb to fear based tactics. I will be back with information, good or bad, that perhaps will assist you in making a decision that you feel is best for your child. I do not sign my name because quite frankly Mr. Khan, a person with as many aliases as you have does not fit my criteria for trustworthiness. I have no self-serving agenda; however, your agenda is very obvious. Your business plan is to plant seeds of doubt and panic in parents in order to start your school. Such a shame. An honorable man should seek to start a school based on his passion for educating our youth and preparing them to succeed in the "real world" and not on retaliatory methods against a school that you feel was perhaps not a good fit for your son. Recruiting students and parents would be based on your ability to provide a superior educational experience rather than trying to destroy a school or "buy the Galloway School" in order to circumvent the hard work and time required to establish a great school based on strong educational standards. Your motives are certainly suspect.
Third Party,
Looks as if you feel repeating yourself makes your point more significant. Again, your actions are indicative of the level of desperation that Bonnie and Dot are experiencing.
Third Party,
I don't think you have to worry about my motives. It is your motives that are suspicious. Posting comments the way you do is indicative of your desperation. Why don't you just come out and admit you are associated with the Galloway School. Just engage in open debate under your own identity. I promise I won't spy on you or stalk you like Anonymous supporters of the Galloway School did to me.
Post a Comment