Carla Loon Leader

Carla Leader

There is not a single comment on this that is truthful. First, I did not insist on the communications going through me; the school district's attorney did due to the extreme difficulty in working with the parent. Second, the client did not listen to any advice or recommendations and the time that was billed was all time that was spent responding to long email rants, long phone conversations and attempts at problem solving. In fact, I did not charge them for all of the time that was spent on their case. Sometimes when a client doesn't like what they hear, they blame the attorney. In this case, the client was not willing to listen to reason and the "arguing" that he mentions was no such thing - it was my futile attempts at explaining the law and the unrealistic positions that he maintained. Third, I requested that the client and his wife come to my office for a meeting so that we could establish expectations and develop realistic goals, and to allow me to sit down with both of them to discuss what they hoped to achieve through my involvement. They agreed to the meeting and then terminated the relationship before the meeting. Finally, as for making the communications with the school worse - there was one letter sent to the school that was approved by the client.. After that, the school's attorney contacted me about a couple of issues, but reserved substantive conversations until he had pulled together all of the records and could schedule a meeting. Nothing that I said could possibly have made the communication with the school worse, as there was little to no communication with the school by me. I will reiterate that it was the school district that requested all communications to go through the attorneys. I don't ever carry the expectation that my clients can not communicate with the individuals that are entrusted daily with the care of their children. To the contrary, I encourage open dialogue and frequent contact. This scenario was destined to fail almost from Day 1, and had I seen the red flags from the first meeting with the client, I would not have accepted representation. I have dozens of clients that are thrilled with the work I do and the tremendous success I have had for their precious children. I wish this client's son all the best and hope that he is now experiencing success in school.