Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Our legal system is based on an adversarial model, in which each attorney owes a strict duty to his or her own client and none whatsoever to an adverse party. It doesn't matter that the other party is peacefully adverse. If one party has or believes they may have a claim for money against the other, that is legally adverse. Therefore your sister is adverse to the school district, and the school district's attorney has absolutely no obligation to your sister of any kind. The only exception is if and when a lawsuit is filed, every attorney has an obligation to comply with the law of discovery, although technically it is the party that is obligated. The attorney's obligation is to assist the client in complying. The attorney still does not have any direct obligation to the other side.

P.S. -- It is never too late to mediate.

Mr. McCormack is correct. But your sister has the right to this information - I can reasonably assure you of this even though I do not practice retirement or education law. There are, very likely, state and federal codes and/or regulations, including rules governing the school board and/or CALPERS, that provide employees with the right to know the basis upon which their service credits have been calculated.

So your sister's attorney needs to move forward and make a formal demand in accord with the proper procedure. As an attorney, he should be able to figure out what that procedure is.

Also, your reference to mediation is perplexing - perhaps there is a part of the story that I missed. Most mediations occur with the assistance of lawyers for both sides. It is not the case that you either mediate or retain an attorney. I can assure you that if there was a mediation, the school district's attorney will be present; so should your sister's attorney. Further, there may well be a mechanism in place through the school board to trigger a mediation, and your sister's attorney should advise her if this is so.

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