How We Serve You
The majority of our clients are parents or other legal guardians of special needs children who need legal advice regarding the accessing and funding of an appropriate program of special education for their children through their local public school district.
Initial Screening
Our usual initial contact is a telephone call, email, or questionnaire from prospective clients. We will then conduct up to a 15 minute phone consultation at no charge to discuss the status of the case.
Formal Case Review
In some cases, the initial screening does not provide us with sufficient information to determine whether we are able to obtain the result sought by the prospective client. In those cases, we can do a formal case review for a fixed and moderate fee.
Included in the case review are:
Review of the client’s records, including past evaluation reports, special education documents, juvenile court records, school progress reports and relevant correspondence
Communication with other professionals involved with the child, including therapists, psychiatrists, tutors, and pediatricians
Review of the law relevant to the case
Face-to-face or telephone interview
At the end of the initial screening or formal case review, we will state whether we believe we can obtain a favorable outcome. If the prospective client agrees to retain us, we will take the following steps:
Make a referral to obtain an independent psycho-educational assessment if a recent one has not been conducted
Accept the case with specific recommendations for ongoing representation (see "Ongoing Representation" below)
Ongoing Representation
In most of our cases, we establish an ongoing relationship with our clients to obtain the special education services they seek for their children. Fees for our ongoing clients are based on an hourly rate for legal services provided, which may include:
Developing an overall case strategy, including retention of outside experts where necessary and recommendations regarding specific action and prospects for settlement
All communications with the public agencies necessary to pursue obtaining the services or result sought by our client
Attending IEP meetings, mediations, administrative hearings, and court procedures as necessary
Our Clients
Parents of Special Needs Children - Individuals
The majority of the clients of our firm are individual parents, grandparents or guardians of disabled students who need legal representation in order to ensure that the rights of their children under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are protected and enforced, or who also have rights to Regional Center services in California.
Children who have a mental, emotional or physical disability and as a result are failing in some combination of their home, school or community environments.
Children who are legally disabled, but have not been identified as being eligible for special education by the public school system.
Children who already have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) through their local public school district, but who continue not to succeed despite the development of the IEP.
Children who have been proposed for suspension and/or expulsion, or been expelled, from their public school district, and the conduct at issue was related to an underlying disability.
Children who are wards or dependents of the California Juvenile Courts and are legally disabled, but who are not receiving appropriate special education services, or are not in appropriate placements.
Non-Profit and For-Profit Corporations
We also represent non-profit and for-profit corporations that:
Operate residential and education programs and contract with parents whose children are entitled to an appropriate education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Operate Certified Non-public Schools (NPS) and contract with public school districts to serve disabled students for whom there is no available publicly operated educational program.