Interesting, I wonder if anything like this goes on around here?????

[Guest guest]

"I have been reading with interest these posts regarding whether/when one can grieve an attorney representing the school board. While I agree with many of the circumstances under which other posters have discussed doing so, I would like to make another suggestion in dealing with particularly obstreperous, difficult, mean-spirited, and, let's face it, evil board attorneys. Here in CT we have a law firm who is notorious for their sleazy, overly aggressive, nasty approach to representing school boards. What I often tell my clients who live in districts represented by that firm is to group together with other parents, even other parents in other towns also represented by that firm, and GO TO THEIR SCHOOL BOARDS TO COMPLAIN! In my experience, most members of Boards of Education have NO CLUE what is going on in special education in general, nor special education litigation in particular. These nasty firms are

successful in getting the contracts with districts because they "lowball" the hourly rates in the bidding process. What they don't tell you, and few think to ask, is that they bill like crazy, so while the hourly rate for that firm may be less, the completion of almost any task will likely cost several fold what it would have cost the board if they hired a more reasonable firm at a higher hourly. Example: Nasty Board Firm A charges $165/hour; Reasonable Board Firm B charges $200. I call to get an extension of a hearing date b/c my witness has become unavailable. With Board firm B, that is a 6 minute phone call. Total cost to Board is $20. With Board firm A, six letters are exchanged with us, the hearing officer, etc. while the Board objects and moves to dismiss and generally makes a pain in the ass of themselves, the result almost always still being that the hearing is

postponed, but the cost to the district represented by Board A can be $1000 in this example. Parents should get board attorneys' fees bills through FOI and expose them as much as possible for these tactics! Then ask parents of other communities where their fees are lower b/c they are represented by a more reasonable firm to get their bills and compare. That is most likely going to be more effective than a grievance. Just my 2 cents for the day...Jen Laviano, Ridgefield, CT"

Shane M.D.

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