Meeting with or with my solictor - LEA Psych and LEA Solicitor

[workingmum]

Just got a call for an emergency meeting with LEA psych and solictor for Friday (as we are going to tribunal) to discuss DC school choice and suitability. I dont even know what to do or say there.

 

Not sure my solicitor can make the meeting either as it is short notice - should have been at the end of the month - but was changed. Now wondering is there some game playing here.

 

What can i do if my solicitor cannot make the meeting - i am not confident enough to argue my case, let alone know if the wools are been pulled over my eyes.

 

At the moment, we dont have a school for september - I arranged to visit a school before the previous agreed meeting date, now date has been changed - we cannot get school visit at short notice.

 

Anyone please suggest what to do in a meeting with LEA Ed Pysch and LEA solicitor if my solicitor is not present.

[Grace]

Hi,

 

Personally, I would not go. I am not familiar with your history, but this could be a fishing trip for them to find out info for tribunal. It could also be an attempt to reach agreement outside of tribunal, but for that you would need to have visited the school and def need your solicitor.

 

First task would be to talk with your solicitor and he/she can advise you.

 

You do not want to be going into a meeting, giving away your case and possibly agreeing to things that you do not realise the consequences of.

 

I don't know the timescales, but there is always the possibility of a conference call prior to the tribunal, IF your solicitor thinks it is in your best interest.

 

I would NEVER go into a meeting with another solicitor, without my solicitor present.

 

You are under no obligation to do so.

 

You are under no obligation to speak with them over the phone either - I always insisted they put everything in writing, so I had the time to get advice, before I replied.

 

Best of luck/x

[Sally44]

I too would not go. It has been at very short notice and as you say, your solicitor may not be able to attend, and as I see it you have not been able to visit the special school yet. They could get alot of information out of you for their benefit and they could ask you questions and then use your answers against you at tribunal.

 

Speak to your solicitor first. If you don't feel comfortable, or your solicitor says you should not "refuse" point blank, then phone them up and say you have a hospital appointment on that day and cannot make that appointment. Or, at the worse, phone up in the morning and say your child is ill and you cannot come (obviously you would need to keep your child off school for this).

 

Don't feel pressured into something you are unprepared for. Especially when it is probably not an attempt to help your case, but rather to weaken it.

 

After speaking with your solicitor he may say that a meeting is okay, but he might ask that the LEA send you an agenda and the issues to be covered. You have to have your wits about you, that is why they are taking a solicitor in with them. They are not stupid.

[dm2010]

Very suspect.

As the saying goes, if you go in there without your own legal representation it's like bringing a wooden spoon to a duel.

[Kathryn]

Don't go, especially if your solicitor can't make it, and even if he/she can, you should be wary of attending such a meeting anyway, but see what your solicitor thinks.

 

At best it could be a pointless and stressful waste of time. I think from your previous posts you're seeking an independent school? It's highly unlikely the LEA would agree to this at a meeting.

 

At worst it could provide the LEA with ammunition to try and use against you at tribunal, it's easy to be caught off guard when you're nervous and say something you didn't want to say. They may also put pressure on you to agree to something you don't want, or to withdraw your appeal.

 

K x

[workingmum]

thanks all - relief - meeting postponed to April, Solicitor advised to call and cancel - so now postponed