Michael G. Gilberg

Until we met and hired Michael our quest to achieve a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for our child was a nightmare. Michael came on board with the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to achieve a favorable outcome for our child who was suffering in the public school system. His modest retainer and solutions were a blessing. We were in this battle for seven years without Michael and in LESS than a year Michael brought our case to a successful conclusion. Michael approaches these opportunities with compassion, zeal, fiduciary responsibility, and commitment to children’s education which is unsurpassed! This was not our experience with other attorneys in Educational Law and we have seen quite a few.

Michael was a tremendous advocate for my grandchild who has learning disabilities. In a reasonable period of time he was able to get him properly diagnosed and placed in a private school that meets his needs. And he was able to get the school district to pay for the private school. Michael was able to accomplish everything I needed to get done and he did it very professionally and with a unique understanding of the situation. He has my highest recommendation.

Michael helped us through the process of getting our daughter evaluated for dyslexia, and subsequently helped us to get appropriate services for her. He was very knowledgeable about the process, walked us through every step, helped us navigate IEPs and the school district. We are very pleased with the assistance our daughter has now, and we wouldn't have gotten there without him.

I hired Michael to advocate for my child when my school district violated several areas on my daughters 504. Michael was always available to discuss anything that came up during the process to have things resolved. He was quick to respond and knows the laws which come into play pertaining to civil rights. During our formal meeting with the school, he was firm and did not let any of the school team or school lawyer dominate any part of the meeting and the end result was that he got additional services added to the 504, which in turn have resulted in a complete turn around of compliance of the school district and I can now feel confident that my child’s needs are being met.

I hired Attorney Michael Gilberg to represent my son after years of frustrating PPT meetings with our district. I was supposed to be a part of that team and for years I felt unnoticed or misunderstood. I was convinced my son was in an inappropriate environment in his Special Education Program in the public school system. Michael was able to get us what we felt was appropriate for my son in a timely manner. He was prompt, direct and honest and did prolong the case and charge extra money. He knows the special ed laws and is able to get around conflicts promptly with no games. At times I did not trust the process but Michael would reassure me and remind me to be patient. I had to do my part to scan documents to him to support our case. This kept legal costs down. Michael's fees are a portion of what CT special ed Attorneys charge and he was able to get the results we wanted. I would highly recommend Attorney Michael Gilberg. He has truley shown his passion to help children and families.

We hired Michael to represent both of our daughters. Michael has been in communication with us throughout the process. He is very responsive to our emails and it is easy to set up phone conferences with him. He is realistic in his assessment of the possible outcomes for each case with an honest assessment of the cost v. benefit analysis of pursuing various options. We have very much valued his candor and judgement throughout this process. Based on our experience, we would highly recommend him as a special education attorney.

Michael helped my family navigate a school abuse claim against a teacher to my autistic son. He was very calm, formed an organized plan and led the way in carrying it out. I highly recommend Michael as an attorney advocate.

We decided to retain Atty Gilberg after growing frustrated of the school's blocking and failure to identify our child under IDEA. With his help, our child was granted an independent evaluation at public expense and found illegible for services as learning disabled (reading, writing). Our child will have appropriate accommodations for next school year that we hope will help him catch up with his peers in areas he's behind. Atty Gilberg is knowledgeable, experienced, and committed to helping children receive a FAPE.

Michael Gilberg is a HUGE asset to our family. The amount of money I have paid him thus far does not compare to what he has done for my son. My son's current placement is kudos to Michael. He has also succeeded in getting 3 independent evaluations paid for by the school district including a very comprehensive neuropsychological. He is extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of the Special Education process. He is kind, tenacious, very responsive to my concerns, professional and highly respected in his field. I feel extremely fortunate that I connected with Michael. Finding good people to work with you in not always easy.

Michael Gilberg has been successful in addressing numerous challenges in our school district in the past year. There were many hurdles in our district such as achieving FAPE, following IDEA laws, changing the IEP classification and goals, getting approvals for evaluations, and more. Michael handled all CSE meetings and interactions with grace and professionalism. He’s down to earth, cordial, and efffectively manages the stress that comes with the job. Michael is incredibly knowledgeable of education laws, and his ability to keep track of the many moving parts of our ongoing case is impressive. I appreciate his open communication and continuous contact. He responds timely to my calls, texts, and emails. Anyone pursuing FAPE and proper placement with a special needs child knows how much there is to manage. Michael is great about staying on task and he follows up to remind me when I haven’t responded or gotten around to taking action on a task. He’s respectful of my overwhelming schedule and empathic toward my challenges of raising a high needs child. When I’ve expressed frustration about events out of our control, Michael never takes it personally and he gives me hope. I highly recommend Michael Gilberg for his expertise in Educational Law and Advocacy, particularly for Special Needs kids.

My 7 yr old autistic granddaughter was not receiving the services she needed from a certain school district and it seemed as though she was falling by the wayside. We needed legal help and my daughter remembered going to a speaking engagement Mr. Gilberg gave. We decided to contact him and we are so grateful to him. We fought the school district and won. They had to pay for my granddaughter to receive out of district placement along with providing transportation. Michael's slogan is "from someone who has walked in their shoes". He really cares about the kids he is fighting for. After a month in this new school, I hear my granddaughter saying, Good Morning, or Hi, Grandma, and looking me in the eye which is something autistic kids have a hard time with. She may not be a brain surgeon, but now I feel she has a chance to be as self-sufficient as she can possibly be. I highly recommend Michael because he cares.

Michael was thorough, diligent and effective in helping our family deal with very specific special education needs related to dyslexia. He listened to our needs and concerns and crafted his work accordingly to promote the best outcome. I highly recommend Michael. He is truly an advocate and has been instrumental in making a different in my child's education and ultimately, his life.

We had a very short notice need for a special needs educational advocate attorney and found in Michael Gilberg, a competent, passionate, compassionate and detail-oriented counsel. He was able to help secure outplacement for our special needs daughter, without having to go to mediation or due process. Beyond thrilled.

Michael helped us in our case with the Garrison School District in trying to achieve more mainstream inclusion for our son.

Mr. Gilberg was always very diligent in following up with us when he represented us and our son with Autism. He was always available to talk, even late at night. With his legal help and expertise, we were able to get our son back into our local school district with the support services he needed and deserved.