Our Team
Magda Labonté-Blaise is a Senior Associate at SkyerLaw and an experienced special education attorney who represents students with disabilities and their families throughout New York. She brings a passionate and tenacious approach to advocacy shaped by an extraordinary career spanning classroom teaching, drama therapy, special education administration, and litigation, along with a deep understanding of what families face when fighting for their children's right to an appropriate education.
Magda's commitment to children with disabilities began long before law school. After earning a B.A. in Political Theory and Theater from Wesleyan University, she taught at the Brearley School before completing a Master of Arts in Drama Therapy at New York University, where she trained in adult and child psychiatric programs throughout New York City. She later worked as a Case Manager with the Child's Aid Society while entering the New York City Teaching Fellows program. As a special educator in District 75 and later in Queens, she taught students with a wide range of disabilities while earning a Master of Science in Teaching from Pace University. Driven to advance educational equity, she attended St. John's University School of Law while continuing to teach, then transitioned into special education administration, overseeing IEP implementation, compliance, and academic intervention programs for students at risk of dropping out.
Following her work in education, Magda joined the New York City Department of Education as an Impartial Hearing Representative, where she litigated and resolved due process complaints on behalf of the DOE. She later joined SkyerLaw, representing families throughout New York City, Westchester, and Long Island before founding LaBonté-Blaise Law, LLC. Over four years, she built a successful practice representing families in complex impartial hearings, securing meaningful placements and settlements for students with a broad range of disabilities. That experience strengthened her advocacy, broadened her relationships with schools and providers, and reinforced her commitment to helping families navigate the special education system.
Now back at SkyerLaw, Magda brings the perspective of an attorney who has advocated for students as a teacher, therapist, administrator, impartial hearing representative, and solo practitioner. Her practice focuses on impartial hearing litigation, placement disputes, IEP advocacy, and securing appropriate educational programs and services for students with disabilities. She is known for her meticulous preparation, strategic advocacy, and genuine care for every family she represents. Outside of her legal practice, Magda is a theater director and actor whose creative work reflects the same belief that guides her advocacy: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and given the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. She lives in New York with her husband and their children.
