January 2008

‘YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!’

May I firstly wish you a Happy New Year.  I hope that 2008 brings you everything that you are hoping for. 

You may already have seen my occasional updates during these past couple of years but if this is your first time then you will find that it brings you the latest news about the developments at my firm and, in particular, any new features on our website. I do this because many people say to me tht they like to be kept aware of what I am up to. I apologise in advance for its length but there is a lot to cram in! Make sure you read it fully if you want to make sure that you are aware of all the new FREE things I am launching.

But I guess you are wondering already why I have written such a curious title aren’t you?  Well, it's because I wanted to tell you about the new ‘Welcome’ page on my website.

So what is all the fuss about?  Many people design new ‘welcome’ pages on their website all the time. Why do I think it is such a big deal and, more importantly, how can I use this fact to justify telling you ‘You’re Not Going to Believe This!’

If you already know me personally or professionally, you will be aware that I always want to do something ‘different’ from other people and that I also try to help clients and members of the public by combining my legal and computer skills (the two things I most love, aside from my wife and family of course) to help me stand out from the crowd. 

Well, I have finally done it!  Granted it has taken me longer than I had hoped for, (if you saw my January 2007 update you will know that I had hoped to have this new idea ready for our second anniversary on 3 May 2007,) but I do believe that it has been worth the wait. 

After you have finished reading this email please go to our new 'Welcome' page to see for yourself what I am getting so excited about.  Although I do not want to ruin the surprise yet by telling you what you are going to find there when you arrive, let me just say that I have utilised the latest computer generated animation to try and make the user experience on my website more helpful. 

And if you really cannot wait to finish reading this email before having a look, then click  on our 'Welcome' page right away but only if you promise to come back and read the rest of this page afterwards!

OUR WEBSITE
I am pleased to say that our website has gone from strength to strength during these past couple of years and we are now regularly getting over 7,500 to 8,000 unique visitors every month! Not bad when you consider that we are just a small firm of solicitors at the end of the day who practise in the niche area of Education law and, even more so, when you realise that even in this we also specialise predominately in the areas of special educational needs and disability. 

I am also delighted to report that by 1 January 2008 our website counter was showing that there had been over 100,000 unique visitors to our website since May 2005.  But then when I checked our website statistics myself, I was amazed to find that the counter hasn’t been working properly recently and that we have actually received closer to 115,000 unique visitors! 

UPDATED FREE FACTSHEETS/NEW FREE MAIL COURSE
One of the most popular resources on my website since it was launched have been  the 16 FREE Factsheets that I have made available to the public on a range of Education, Disability and Public law issues. These have actually been there from the start and date back to when I first set up in sole practice in 2005. 

In January 2007 I also put up a free 7-day email course entitled ‘How To Conduct A SENDIST Appeal’ in which, over the course of a week, I take people personally through the steps before, during and after an appeal to the SENDIST (Special Educational Needs & Disability Tribunal) in a detailed but easy to understand and friendly way. 

From the feedback I have received from people it is clear that the most popular factsheets which people are downloading are those to do with special educational needs, although there are still some people downloading the factsheets on other areas of education law.

I have therefore decided not only to completely revamp and update all of the factsheets, (and also now reduced them from 16 to 10,) but have also produced a new free 7-day email course entitled ‘Everything You Wanted To Know About The Law On Special Educational Needs But Were Too Afraid To Ask! (A Guide For Parents Who Probably Need To Know But May Not Have Time To Find Out)’. 

Again, it is written in a detailed but easy to understand and friendly way and covers all of the main things that parents (or others who come into contact with children with special educational needs either personally or professionally) need to know. Even if I say so myself, I think it is fantastic!

Although I toyed with the idea for a while of writing it in book form and selling it through the website (perhaps another project for the future?) I have decided, in keeping with my philosophy that I should help people wherever possible by empowering them with knowledge, to give it away for free as another email course. 

This decision is also my way of trying to help those people who cannot afford to access specialist education legal advice and whose cases I am no longer able to accept because I had no choice but to stop doing legal aid work last year.

FREE GUIDE TO APPEALING FOR A SPECIAL SCHOOL
And not only have I updated the factsheets and written a new email course but I have also produced a new detailed guide called ‘Appealing For A Special School’ which, again, parents and others can download for free from our website.

I know that many of you may be scratching your heads at this point and wondering why on earth I am giving away so much valuable information for free which other solicitors (or other people) would normally charge for.  Have I gone mad? Aren’t I at risk of losing business? 

Whilst both these things obviously may always be a possibility, I genuinely believe that ‘what goes around comes around’ and, at the end of the day all we have is our ‘name’. I not only want to have a good name but for people to also think of my name first when they think about Education solicitors or who is the best person to approach for advice and representation about special educational needs and disability issues. 

The fact that so many new people have been choosing to visit my website month after month these past few years and that I regularly receive so many compliments or requests to take on cases, usually through personal recommendations, proves to me that my approach has been the correct one. I became a solicitor because I wanted to ‘help’ people. What I am doing now is therefore probably not only morally and ethically correct but actually helping more people find out about who I am and what I do.

HELPING PEOPLE WIN CASES WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING!
And one of the nicest things that has happened to me during this past year, (which you may know from my June 2007 update has been quite difficult for me personally with the loss of my father,) are the emails and telephone calls that I have received from time to time from people who I have never spoken to before, thanking me for my help in winning their case; even though I have not actually done anything or even spoken to them before! 

What they have told me is that I have helped them through the information that I have provided them through my website, particularly through the ‘How to Conduct a SENDIST Appeal’ course, and they have added that although they are sorry that they could not afford to instruct me directly, they felt empowered enough by what I had told them to still take on their Local Authority and then win their SENDIST appeal by themselves. What more can I say!

LEGAL 500/CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS
I have also been extremely flattered by the write-ups about us/me again in this year’s editions of the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners' Guide to the Legal Profession. 

The Legal 500 stated:

“Sole Partner Douglas Silas at Douglas Silas Solicitors has an impressive track record in claimant work in the SENDIST.  His team has also handled high court appeals, judicial reviews against LEAs, and disability discrimination act claims.  A recent case involved questions over the importance of parental preference and the efficiency of schools’ use of resources.”

Even better, is what Chambers and Partners had to say:

“Now celebrating its second anniversary, this niche education practice’s reputation and success continues to grow.  It focuses on education, disability and public law, particularly cases involving SEN appeals and DDA claims to SENDIST, High Court High Court Appeals against SENDIST decisions and judicial reviews of public bodies.  Over the past year the team has won 90% of its cases involving SENDIST appeals against statements of SEN.  A case highlight was that of Essex CC v SENDIST & S, in which the team represented S, the mother of a child with special needs, in resisting a High Court Appeal challenge by Essex against the decision of a SENDIST appeal.   This established the importance of parental preference and gave guidance on the meaning of the phrase ‘inefficient use of resources’.”

And my favourite part:

“Founding partner Douglas Silas is a man who ‘really earns his success,’ according to peers.  ‘He knows the law inside out’ and ‘cares deeply for his clients’.”

I cannot really ask for more, can I?

WHAT THE PUBLIC SAY
When I first set up in sole practice, my decision to be as accessible as possible and to offer as much free information about the law on education issues to members of the public seems to have really struck a chord with people.

I am constantly taken aback by the number of unsolicited emails I receive from members of the public praising me, our website and our approach. For example, we have received emails saying things like the following:

“I liked what I read about your work and particularly the emphasis upon an ethical basis for your practice”

“The message that comes across is that you are there to help with no pressure to enrol your services unless necessary. I have already recommended your site to a friend of mine and I doubt that she will be the only one I recommend it to."

“I wish to thank you for the refreshing outlook that your firm has regarding children with SEN. If only more professionals shared your views!”

“If I am ever in need of a solicitor to deal with such a case, or indeed anyone I know does, I shall have no hesitation in passing on & or using your details.  I felt you gave a very honest and upfront evaluation of what you are trying to achieve in your business.”

“I am pleased that there are people out there who serve the needs of children and not try to benefit from other peoples misfortunes.”

“Thank you very much for your website - it is simply wonderful to know that there are Professionals who passionately care about our children's Rights”

“It is good to know where parents can turn for help”

"I think your website is excellent, informative and user-friendly."

You can read these and other comments on our website under ‘What the Public Say’ (which can be found under ‘What People Say’).

LINKS TO/FROM OUR WEBSITE
I have noticed in the past year or so that a number of other individuals or organisations who personally or professionally share in our aspiration of helping children with special educational needs, are placing links on their websites or blogs to us.  This is obviously extremely helpful as it is driving more people to use our website but I have thought I could make the process a bit simpler and more interesting for people to do. 

Therefore, I have created a new page called ‘Links To/From This Website’ where people can choose an appropriate banner/button to place on their website or blog.  Again, I have tried to be different about the way in which I am doing this and, if this is something which may be of interest to you (or your organisation,) then I would ask you to have a look directly. 

TYPES OF SEN/DISABILITY
I have also noticed that many people are using our page entitled ‘Types of SEN/Disability’ which provides comprehensive information about many different special educational needs or disabilities and also describes a number of types of education approaches or related processes.  There are currently well over 50 different information pages and it would take me far too long to try and tell you what information is covered there.  However, if this is something which may be of interest to you then please take a look yourself. 

I have come to realise though that people who are searching for information about these issues are also sometimes looking for other organisations who can provide them with more specialist help or support.  I have therefore now created an additional page entitled ‘Further Information’ on which I have listed links to other organisations which I think may be of most relevance for particular conditions etc. 

Again, if this is also of interest to you personally or professionally and you believe that you or your organisation should be up there as well, then please feel free to contact me directly and if I agree that it will provide a useful link to users of our site I will be happy to include it on our website. 

OTHER BITS AND PIECES
Just a couple of other things before I forget; I have also revised the website to no longer automatically ‘speak’ to visitors.  Although many people have said that they have found this facility helpful and have praised its ingenuity, there have been others who have asked me if it is possible to still retain the facility but only to have it ‘speak’ on request. 

I have fully accepted this suggestion and you will now find that the blue ‘play/pause/stop’ controls are still next to the main title of the page but now the page will only ‘speak’ to you if you click on the play button; (twice for some strange reason).

And do you remember how I said in my June 2007 update that although we had achieved an 85% success rate in cases during our first 2 years that it was probably time to stop keeping count. Well, nine months into our third year, I am pleased to say that we are still maintaining that track record!

Thanks for taking the time to read this email. Please again accept my very best personal wishes for 2008. 

Douglas