Michael is an excellent practitioner who shows a huge amount of compassion for his clients and for remedying their concerns. He is always available for assistance even on very short notice. Michael never failed to keep communication open through every phase of our situation. He is exceptionally motivated to really help his clients.
Mr. Gilberg is a fantastic and outstanding attorney. He was extremely effective and knowledgeable in every way possible in dealing with the committee on education at our local public school. His price is reasonable, and he was kind and sympathetic. I would recommend him without any hesitation.
AN ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES WHO WALKED IN THEIR SHOES.
Michael Gilberg has years of both Special Education and Disability Rights Law and Advocacy Experience. Attorney Gilberg also has his own personal experience as someone on the Autism Spectrum.
Attorney Gilberg received his J.D. from Pace University School of Law in 2007 after receiving both his B.A. and M.P.A. also from Pace University.
Attorney Gilberg holds numerous Professional Affiliations and Leadership Roles
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) - Board Member
National Association of Attorneys with Disabilities (NAAD) - Board Member
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Westchester County Autism Advisory Committee – Member
Disability Rights Bar Association
Westchester County Bar Association Education Law Committee Co-Chair
New York State Bar Association Committee on People with Disabilities
"An advocate for children with disabilities who walked in their shoes."
Client's Choice is an Avvo award granted to attorneys with a significant number of client reviews over 4 stars in a given year.
Posted by anonymous | September 18, 2023
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Professor
Michael is an excellent practitioner who shows a huge amount of compassion for his clients and for remedying their concerns. He is always available for assistance even on very short notice. Michael never failed to keep communication open through every phase of our situation. He is exceptionally motivated to really help his clients.
Read less
Posted by Steve | August 20, 2023
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Outstanding
Mr. Gilberg is a fantastic and outstanding attorney. He was extremely effective and knowledgeable in every way possible in dealing with the committee on education at our local public school. His price is reasonable, and he was kind and sympathetic. I would recommend him without any hesitation.
Posted by Lauren | April 13, 2023
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Thankful we hired Attorney Gilberg
Attorney Michael Gilberg is an excellent choice if you require a special education attorney in CT. He genuinely believes all students deserve an appropriate education. He was very effective in advocating for our child's placement. He understands how important it is that students get the education they need in order to be successful in life.
Read less
Posted by Leah De Castro | January 27, 2022
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Above and Beyond Counsel
Sharp and compassionate,
Attorney Michael Gilberg’s handling of our son’s case was beyond exceptional…
He perfectly executed his defense and argument in what I felt was a long and uphill battle against the school system. We can never thank him enough.
His understanding and genuine willingness to help children with disability is impeccable.
Very professional and works tirelessly, knowledgeable and
skillful. He’s truly an answered prayer!
Read less
Posted by april | June 28, 2021
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
We are so thankful for Michael's legal services
We are so thankful for Michael's services. When our district was telling us that our daughter (with high-functioning ASD) was being declassified, we didn't know where to turn. (The district determined this prior to our actual CSE meeting).
A friend of a friend recommended Michael. After one conversation I was positive that Michael was the right choice to represent our daughter's best educational interests.
We retained Michael's services and not only did he know the law, but he understood our daughter's needs. After only 2 meetings with the district, we were able to settle and all of my daughter's services remained in place and her IEP was finalized.
Michael was always responsive to any questions or concerns we had and always got back to us promptly.
There is absolutely no way we would have had the same outcome, without Michael's representation. We decided to continue to retain his services and have him represent us/our daughter for all of our future annual meetings with the district.
I would, without reservation, recommend Michael to represent any family struggling with advocating for their child's special education needs. Our family is so thankful we did.
Read less
Posted by anonymous | November 4, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Wow!!! a fablous attorney in Edicational -who knew they existed
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.
Read less
Posted by Tracy | July 19, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Great Advocate for Children with Learning Disabilities. Highly Recommend!
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.
Read less
Posted by Arianne | April 21, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
effective special ed attorney
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.
Read less
Posted by Kim | January 7, 2020
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Fantastic special needs attorney
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.
Read less
Posted by Karen | November 8, 2019
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Parent of Special Ed student
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.
Read less
Posted by Daniel | September 24, 2019
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
excellent, attentive special education attorney
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.
Read less
Posted by Jamie | July 20, 2019
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Darien SEPAC co-chair
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.
Posted by anonymous | June 20, 2019
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Atty Gilberg helped our child
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.
Read less
Posted by Adrienne Marino | February 9, 2019
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Michael Gilberg
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.
Read less
Posted by Gloria | December 12, 2018
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Expertise in Special Education Law
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.
Read less
Posted by Sharon | December 12, 2018
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
The Caring Attorney
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.
Read less
Posted by anonymous | April 7, 2018
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Very Positive Experience
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.
Read less
Posted by Geoffrey | August 10, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Review
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.
Posted by Brenda | June 22, 2021
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Thank you
Michael helped us in our case with the Garrison School District in trying to achieve more mainstream inclusion for our son.
Posted by anonymous | August 7, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Hard working lawyer
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.
Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.
What determines Avvo Rating?
Experience & background
Years licensed, work experience, education
Legal community recognition
Peer endorsements, associations, awards
Legal thought leadership
Publications, speaking engagements
Discipline
Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Education Attorney | Sep 14
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
"Michael is truly committed to helping people in the realm of education law, particularly as it applies to those with special needs. This is a highly-specific area of the law, and to know that there is someone with the passion to pursue this area is comforting, as well as the fact that he is a member of this small-and-knowledgeable community."