WOULD YOU LIKE to learn how to make a big difference in a disabled child’s life as part of your practice?

An upcoming Special Education CLE on May 15, 2003, co-sponsored by the NH Bar Association’s CLE Program, Pro Bono Program and Mental and Physical Disabilities Law Section, will teach attorneys the basics of representing parents and children in special education matters. The first of a two-part series, the seminar is being offered at a reduced rate for attorneys who agree to handle one or more special education cases by December 2003. The CLE is funded in significant part by the NH Bar Foundation’s Justice Grants Program.

Important and Rewarding Work

Parents tell their children that if they work hard in school and apply themselves, they can be whatever they want to be and accomplish great things. For a child with an educational disability, that promise cannot be met without some help. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are federal laws that ensure a disabled child an even educational playing field. These laws provide meaningful access to the educational opportunities available to non-disabled children in our public schools. Attorneys can make an enormous difference by ensuring that schools provide disabled children with the individualized educational services to which they are entitled.

Attorney Michael Chamberlain, a sole practitioner in Manchester who has secured special educational services for countless children for over 20 years, said he feels "blessed" to be able to handle these cases. According to Chamberlain, practicing special education law provides attorneys with "a reasonable chance to make an extraordinary difference in a child’s life."

Spurred by experiences in the beginning of his career handling child protection and CHINS cases, Chamberlain discovered "how much of a resource special education laws could be" for disabled children. By using the protections and entitlements offered by the IDEA, Section 504 and state law, Chamberlain found that he was able to pull together resources and develop holistic programs to provide disabled children with the tools required for success. "The one thing you need is a diploma and the ability to learn a skill," he said.

Attorney Scott Johnson, of Stein, Volinsky and Callahan in Concord, agrees: "By assisting children in gaining access to educational services, you can get them very concrete help that will assist them in a tangible way with long-lasting effects," he said. Johnson, who has served as co-counsel in the Claremont case, has been practicing special education law for four years. He was first recruited to work on special education cases by Ellen Shemitz, who is now the director of the Children’s Alliance. Johnson continues to do this work because of its importance and "the meaningful difference you can make in a child’s life," he said.

Making a Good Living

Chamberlain and Johnson have successfully incorporated special education law into their practices. Chamberlain, who has handled both family law and special education cases for most of his career, now focuses primarily on special education cases. "You can make a living doing these cases," he said.

Attorney Peter Smith, who has been handling special education cases exclusively for the past three years, concurs. According to Smith, a sole practitioner in Durham, an attorney can keep the overhead in special education cases "incredibly low" since most of the information one needs for this area of law is available for free. Smith said he is also able to operate without secretarial support since the vast majority of his cases resolve favorably without the need for litigation. "You can do work that is intellectually stimulating and fills a desperate need while making a good living," Smith said.

In some cases, you can collect attorney’s fees from the school district. In 1986, Congress was so concerned about providing disabled children with the protections and educational opportunities guaranteed by the IDEA that it added an attorney’s fees provision. "Lawyers who successfully represent disabled children in administrative hearings can get paid for doing good," said Chamberlain.

The Need is Great

At present, only a handful of private attorneys in New Hampshire handle special education cases. The Disabilities Rights Center (DRC), which is the designated "protection and advocacy" agency for disabled persons for our state, fields hundreds of calls each year from parents seeking help for their disabled children - which amounts to about 30 to 40 percent of the DRC’s annual calls. Unfortunately, the DRC does not have the capacity to accept every case.

According to DRC’s legal director, Ronald Lospennato, DRC received 448 calls about special education cases last year. However, with only six attorneys and many other areas to address, DRC was able to provide only brief counseling assistance in about 75 cases and full representation in approximately 50 matters. Due to the number of requests for assistance and DRC’s limited resources, there is a tremendousunmet need. "Parents who are not represented are completely on their own and often settle for whatever the school offers because they don’t know what their children are entitled to and how to argue for it," Lospennato said.

Recognizing the huge unmet need for representation of children in special education matters, the Citizens’ Rights Subcommittee of the NHBA’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee decided to focus its efforts on trying to increase the pool of private attorneys willing to handle special education cases. When Ginny Martin, the Bar Association’s associate executive director for legal services and staff liaison to the Delivery of Legal Services Committee, learned of the subcommittee’s efforts, she offered to co-sponsor the reduced-rate CLE as an incentive to encourage more attorneys to handle special education cases. "Increasing access to legal services for low-income people to deal with fundamental issues is a core precept of the Pro Bono Program," Martin said. "We are happy to tap into and expand our volunteer resources to help address this critical need for children with disabilities."

Resources are Available to Help Attorneys

For attorneys who represent parents and children in special education cases, the DRC allows full access to their library and other available resources, including consultations with staff attorneys. Michael Chamberlain and Scott Johnson also welcome calls from anyone who may need assistance or guidance. Johnson is also soon to publish a new book, The New Hampshire Special Education Law Manual – A Guide for Parents, Educators, Attorneys & Advocates, which in part is a reference of all the laws applicable to special education, but also explains these laws for lay people.

The Internet also provides a wide range of special education-related resources. There are now a host of special education Web sites that provide updates and leading cases for attorneys. Those who join the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) can participate in a listserve to seek advice and information from special education attorneys across the country and gain online access to databanks of legal pleadings and other similar documents.

For more information on this upcoming CLE or to register, please see the program description under Upcoming CLE Programs. Or contact Ginny Martin at 224-6942 or at gmartin@nhbar.org.

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