If you have a child who has special educational needs, you might have thought about hiring a special education lawyer. This can be smart in various situations, such as if you think that your child might not be getting the attention and care that he or she needs at school. When meeting with a lawyer, it is important to ensure that you are properly prepared so that he or she can help you and your child as much as possible. These are a few tips that can help you do just that.
1. Gather Your Child's Documents
First of all, you might have a lot of documentation about your child that your lawyer will need to see. For example, if you have paperwork regarding your child's condition and professional recommendations about the care that he or she needs, your lawyer will probably need to see these documents. Additionally, you may need to bring in documents from your child's school, such as notes about behavior, grade information and any other pertinent documents that can help the special education attorney get a better idea about the details of your child's case.
When gathering up these documents, make sure that you organize them so that they are easy for the lawyer to look through, such as separating documents from medical professionals from documents from those at your child's school and putting everything in order. This can make it much easier for your lawyer to look through everything and can save a lot of time. Plus, if your lawyer is billing you by the hour, this can help you save some money on attorney fees as well.
2. Write Down Questions or Concerns
When you sit down with a lawyer to talk about your child and his or her situation, it can be easy to forget about some of the things that you wanted to ask or that you are concerned about. In the days leading up to your appointment, jot down any questions or concerns that you might have. This can help you ensure that you cover everything during the meeting and can help you feel less stressed when you're at your appointment.
If you are going to be meeting with a special education lawyer to help fight for your child, you probably want to make sure that you are ready. Luckily, if you follow these two steps before the appointment, you should be able to handle things in the best way possible.
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