Michelle A. Becker

I found Michelle after I had come to the end of my rope trying to deal with the bureaucratic and political roadblocks that were thrown up by Monrovia Unified when I tried to advocate for appropriate school placement for my child. She became our white knight and I shudder to think what might have happ...ened without her expert guidance. I had gotten a couple personal recommendations for other attorneys and advocates but I didn't move forward because I either could not get them to understand the significance of what I was trying to achieve, or they wanted reams of paperwork and forms before they would have more than a surface level conversation with me. Michelle called me back right away and immediately grasped the situation. She got right to work on our behalf, applied polite,firm, and steady pressure where and when needed and kept me from blowing a gasket several times while the navigating the slow and necessary channels. She is a pleasure to deal with on a personal level and seems perfectly comfortable with the not-so-friendly faces staring at her across the table IEP meetings. She honestly cares about my kid, not just as a client but as a human being, and for the first time since I unwittingly turned my as-yet-undiagnosed, handful of a high energy kid over to the public school system, I feel like I can help my daughter meet the challenges coming at her.

My son was falling farther and farther behind in reading. So finally, halfway through his second grade year, we asked for an educational evaluation. The results showed that he has an auditory processing disorder. No parent wants to hear their child has a neurological disorder, especially when you d...on’t really understand what that diagnosis means. The “expert” explanations were vague and left us with many more questions than answers. And then there was the whole issue of how exactly this would affect his education. My wife and I were scared, uncertain, ignorant, confused, and a bit overwhelmed. That’s when Michelle got involved. It quickly became clear I should have called her sooner - like before we even requested testing. Not that we would have gone a different route, but we would have began from a place of knowledge, rather than having to play catch up. That in and of itself would have allowed us to be much better advocates for our son right from the start. But of course, better late than never. We’re so thankful we found Michelle when we did. Michelle is everything – no, even more than everything– we could have hoped for in an attorney. She knows her stuff. And I mean she knows it cold; inside and out and from every angle in between. She is also incredible at imparting her knowledge to her clients. She is patient and kind in her explanations and able to put them in terms readily understandable by someone without a background in special education or law. On top of that she is no-nonsense when it comes to advocating on behalf of her clients. She can be tough and tenacious when called for. In fact, there is NO ONE I’d rather have in my corner when the going gets tough as I fight for my son’s present rights and future success. So she’s everything I could have hoped for in a lawyer. But she’s also so much more because she’s compassionate and caring and has been as much of a parenting counselor as she has been a special education lawyer to us. She is wise and willing to share her whole self so we can learn from her personal and professional experiences. I really can’t adequately express how grateful we are for the help and guidance she’s provided to us. If your child has been diagnosed with a special education need, I urge you to call Michelle immediately. And if you even think your child may have a special education need but don’t yet know for sure, I also urge you to call Michelle. The sooner you do, the more money she can save you and more importantly, the more quickly she can empower you to save your child. I know all this because that’s exactly what she did for me. Thank you, Michelle, for everything.

Michelle Becker was invaluable helping me get the resources my son needed and was entitled to according to the law. When the CollegeBoard refused to give him extra time, we met to craft a letter addressing each objection the College Board set forth and to successfully overcome every objection with s...upporting medical documentation. She immediately knew what needed to be written to ensure my son received the extra time he needed given his severe learning disability. I needed Michelle a second time when my son was a senior in high school. His English teacher refused to comply with his 504 Plan which had been in place since 10th grade. Her thinking regarding a student with a disability was wrong, placing the responsibility for accommodations on the student! In addition, her interpretation of the 504 was incorrect, yet she self-righteously held to her position. Michelle stepped-in, showed me unequivocally that the teacher’s thinking was erroneous in light of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, Section 504, and wrote a letter to the school Dean of Academics for students with 504 plans. In that letter, she proved the teacher was not in compliance with the federal law as well as my son’s 504 plan. He was immediately transferred out of her class thanks to Michelle. Whether your child already has an IEP or 504 Plan in place and you need the school to appropriately implement it, or you suspect your child may have a learning issue and don’t know what to do, Michelle is the attorney and child advocate to help you. She knows the law and the school systems and more importantly, how to manage the situation to ensure your child’s needs are addressed in a timely manner. I cannot recommend Michelle Becker highly enough. Not only is she a smart and talented attorney and advocate, she is also compassionate. She cares about her clients and the outcome of her efforts.