thefamilyvonstrop, thanks for explaining your point of view. I think it is wonderful that adopters read into the subject, but it is a huge subject, and it is very likely that bms and adoptees and other non-adopters will be able to help at times, or want to comment, and as far as mnhq is concerned that is a good thing I think. Most adoptees giving advice or passing comment on here will have dealt with their own issues very adequately - unless someone is actually telling you it is all your fault, it is highly unlikely they are projecting! I think my posts are really, really clear yet they have been misread, and I have been accused of saying things I have not said. And in relation to dishonesty I was quoting a pp. To answer your question about a solicitor, I would expect a local and experienced (in adoption) solicitors to have an insight into the LA and its practices and would be able to advice on vires and provide other information which would provide insight and give you realistic expectations, and it may affect how you approach things. It wouldn't be about rights or court actions. Some will have worked within the relevant department of the LA.
In relation to matching, I appreciate that for an adopter it is a highly emotive subject but it is worth bearing in mind that the professionals involved (if they are doing their job properly) will throw all the info about the adopter into the pot and views on names would be thrown into the pot to form a picture of the adopter. In my situation poor matching was painful both for me and for my adoptive parents, and it took a little while for the poor matching to show (the younger years are usually much easier for both the adopter and the adoptee, generally, I think). I do think that some of the comments of the adopters on here betray a lack of wider understanding - it is ironic that the same comment has been made about me! So there it is.
I am not sure tldr is right when she says legally you can change names but sws don't like it. Legally, the court would decide whether the name should be changed but it isn't done in a vacuum. An adoption body writes "adopted children usually keep their first names and take their adopted family surname. In some circumstances this may be unsafe, and you will be able to discuss this during your assessment or when matching with a child" so the implication is most certainly that it is expected to be raised as an issue by the adopter, I would say. If some of you disagree then each to their own.
To me the idea that a LA has a blanket policy is bonkers but I really think the OP should check their understanding of this.
in terms of security the problems raised sound like a nightmare, although again I do see this in a slightly wider perspective. For example, people have stalkers, paedophiles look at social media, etc. Adopters have to manage social media and names etc but so do other people.
Ironically, I have read around modern adoption, not about name changing. I have said elsewhere in the thread that I wish I knew more about research around namechanging.
in terms of bullying, yes there is bullying in this section in my opinion. I wasn't talking about this thread, though, I was talking about other threads, in response to what ironically had said to me. Having said that, I have had a pm of support! I have looked back over old threads and I have found not one example of an adoptee or bm giving advice or passing comment (as opposed to asking for support) where it has been received favourably - in every case in fact the adoptee has been told they were projecting (the exception being the very recent thread about the new section, obviously...). In some threads, the adoptee has aware of information, correctly, which the adopters were not aware of.
For me, the issues around adoption are important and I think it would be better to have more adoptees and bms and outsiders passing comment in this section.