Allyson Collins

Ms. Collins joined the firm in July 2024 as an Of Counsel attorney in the Austin office. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Collins proudly served as in-house counsel for 14 years, first with Eanes Independent School District and then Lake Travis Independent School District.

As a school attorney, Ms. Collins handles issues particular to public school districts, including Board and governance matters, student matters, open government issues, elections, and TEA and Office of Civil Rights complaints. She also has experience with employment and civil rights matters, including Texas Education Code Chapter 21 contracts, non-renewals and terminations.

Ms. Collins has a specialty in the area of school safety, including student and staff safety matters, legal compliance requirements, policy and regulation development, establishment and daily operations of school district police departments and contract law enforcement, and behavioral threat assessment and interventions. As in-house counsel, Ms. Collins provided regular and ongoing safety training and consultation to all levels of staff and administration. Ms. Collins has served as a member of a District Safety and Security Committee, as well as a member of a District Behavioral Intervention Team (threat assessment), experiencing firsthand the successes with proactive interventions for students, but also the challenges with storing and sharing information, evaluating student risk, and establishing ongoing supports and safety plans. Ms. Collins is a frequent speaker in this area of the law, having provided school safety training for the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC), the Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and local law enforcement agencies.

Before serving as in-house counsel, Ms. Collins was a Senior Attorney and Legislative Counsel for the Texas Association of School Board (TASB), providing legal advice, training, and policy services to Texas School Districts. Ms. Collins began her legal career as an associate with Strasburger & Price in Dallas.

Ms. Collins received her Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, and her Juris Doctor from the Duke University School of Law in North Carolina.  While at Duke University, Ms. Collins was a founding member of the Children’s Education Law Clinic, a community law office that provides free legal advice, advocacy, and legal representation to low-income children primarily in the areas of special education and school discipline.