*Matters in which of-counsel attorney Guinness Costello served as counsel, with co-counsel. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Every child deserves to be safe at school.
Abuse still happens — in classrooms, locker rooms, after-school programs, and even at school events.
California law holds schools responsible when they fail to protect students from predators or fail to act on warning signs.
Our attorneys focus on representing survivors of school sexual abuse and their families. We know the laws that apply to public and private schools, the duties administrators and teachers owe, and how to file claims against powerful institutions.
Representing Survivors
We represent survivors against the institutions that failed to protect them: schools, youth programs, counties, churches, and the people who ran them. Most cases fall into the areas below. If yours does not, call anyway; the same law usually applies.
Meet the attorneys
Every case is handled by a California-licensed attorney. Steve Costello practices from Chula Vista; of-counsel attorney Guinness Costello is in Los Angeles. Cases against counties and large institutions are handled jointly.
Meet our attorneys
California's deadlines are changing again
Abuse on or after January 1, 2024 has no filing deadline. For earlier abuse, survivors can file until age 40, or within five years of discovering the harm. SB 577, signed September 30, 2026, cuts that five-year window to three starting January 1, 2027. If you are relying on the discovery rule, filing before year-end preserves the longer window. See if your claim is still open →
California Law
Learn about survivor rights in California
Read more
Three steps. You control every one of them.
You call or message
Any hour, any day. You can give your name or not. You do not have to tell the whole story, or any of it, on the first call.
An attorney listens
Every consultation is with a California-licensed attorney, who hears what you want to share, answers your questions, and tells you honestly whether there is a case.
You decide, on your timeline
Nothing is filed and nothing is shared without your permission. There is no cost, no obligation, and no pressure to decide anything that day.
