RATLIFF JACKSON LLP — FOUNDING PARTNER

Terrell A. Ratliff, Esq.

Strategic Counsel for High-Stakes Student Discipline, Civil Rights & Institutional Risk

Terrell A. Ratliff is a founding partner of Ratliff Jackson LLP, a boutique litigation and education law firm representing students, families, and professionals across New Jersey and Pennsylvania when institutional authority places academic standing, licensure, or long-term opportunity at risk. He built his practice, the Law Office of Terrell A. Ratliff, over years as a solo attorney before co-founding Ratliff Jackson LLP with Samuel D. Jackson — expanding the firm’s capacity across civil litigation, family law, and personal injury while deepening its core focus on education law and criminal defense.”

His practice sits at the intersection of education law, civil defense, and constitutional advocacy — and his approach is grounded in preparation, discretion, and a command of institutional process that allows clients to navigate high-stakes situations without being outpaced by the system.

Terrell is known for bringing structure and strategic clarity to proceedings that are often opaque, inconsistent, and procedurally unforgiving. He does not posture. He prepares — approaching each matter with disciplined analysis and a steady presence that prioritizes outcome over theatrics.

“Students don’t just need someone to argue what they did or didn’t do. They need counsel who understands how institutions operate, how records are built, and how futures are shaped. My role is to ensure the system hears them clearly — and that they are never left unprepared.”

Student & academic discipline defense

Terrell’s primary practice is the representation of students, families, and academics when institutions initiate proceedings that threaten educational standing, professional futures, and personal reputation. He has represented clients across Ivy League universities, public flagship institutions, elite boarding schools, and graduate and professional programs nationwide — handling matters that range from academic integrity allegations to behavioral discipline to Title IX investigations.

Institutional disciplinary proceedings are not neutral processes. Schools control the timeline, the procedure, and often the information available to the accused. They move quickly, and families who arrive unprepared — or who treat these proceedings as less serious than criminal charges — frequently find themselves locked into records and outcomes they could not have anticipated. Terrell’s role is to change that dynamic: to map the institutional framework early, identify the leverage points that exist within the process, and engage administrators and school counsel in a way that protects the client’s interests without unnecessary escalation.

His experience spans the full range of academic and behavioral discipline matters, including:

• Title IX investigations and hearings — sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault allegations under the federal Title IX framework and institutional policy
• Academic integrity proceedings — plagiarism, exam misconduct, unauthorized collaboration, and fabrication allegations
• Emergency disciplinary actions and interim suspensions — where institutions move to remove students from campus or academic programs before a formal hearing
• Behavioral discipline and code of conduct violations — including off-campus conduct, social media allegations, and incidents involving race, gender, disability, or free speech concerns
• Graduate and professional program dismissals — medical school, law school, and other high-stakes programs where dismissal carries career-altering consequences
• Appeals of institutional decisions — including formal appeals within the institution and, where appropriate, litigation challenging procedurally defective or substantively unjust outcomes

Terrell is particularly attuned to cases involving overlapping legal exposure — situations where a student faces both institutional discipline and parallel criminal or civil proceedings. In these cases, statements made in a school proceeding can be used in a criminal case, and a plea or admission in criminal court can be used to expedite a school’s findings. Managing that exposure requires coordination across both systems from the earliest stage, and it requires counsel who understands both. Terrell handles both.

Criminal defense

Terrell’s criminal defense practice spans New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with representation in both state and federal courts. He defends individuals facing drug charges, weapons offenses, assault, domestic violence, theft, DWI, and white-collar matters — from initial arrest through motions, trial, and appeal. His litigation begins before arraignment. Every case is handled with the discipline of a courtroom advocate, regardless of whether it resolves before trial.

In New Jersey, Terrell appears regularly in Superior Court across the state and in municipal courts throughout New Jersey’s vicinages. In Pennsylvania, he represents clients in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas and Municipal Court, and in the Courts of Common Pleas in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. He handles federal matters in the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

His criminal defense work is distinguished by the same qualities that define his education law practice: early case evaluation, disciplined preparation, and a strategy aligned to what the client actually needs from the outcome — not what is easiest to deliver.

Learn more about Terrell’s criminal defense practice

About Ratliff Jackson LLP

Ratliff Jackson LLP is a boutique litigation firm co-founded by Terrell A. Ratliff and Samuel D. Jackson. The firm handles education law and student discipline defense, criminal defense, civil litigation, personal injury, civil rights, consumer fraud, professional license defense, and family law across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Both partners are admitted to practice in federal court, including the U.S. District Courts for New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

The firm is built around the principle that clients facing high-stakes legal matters deserve counsel who is prepared, accessible, and personally invested — not handed off to associates or left to navigate the process without direct attorney contact. At Ratliff Jackson, clients work directly with the partner handling their matter from intake through resolution.

Learn more about Samuel D. Jackson and the firm’s civil litigation practice →

Education & admissions

J.D., University of Toledo College of Law

Bar admissions

Practice areas

This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Contact our office directly to discuss the specific facts of your situation.