Has anybody used professional help with appeals? How was your experience?

[Cratos]

I am considering using professional help for our infant school appeal case.
What does everybody think about this? Is it a good idea? Has anybody used help?

Cratos,
The first thing to say is that I am biased in this as I chair appeal panels, so please feel free to ignore what I say.
The first question for reception appeals has got to be is it an infant class size appeal. If it is then the only criteria for winning is if the admission authority have made a mistake, winning under the criteria which says an unreasonable decision is highly unlikely as "unreasonable" in legal terms means a totally perverse decision. If it is ICS and you don't think a mistake has been made then you are probably wasting your money. That's not to say do not appeal, that is your legal right but accept that the chances of success are slim and budget accordingly.
If it is not an infant class size case then you have a better chance of success and therefore the use of a professional may be more appropriate. The question becomes what is the professional going to do for you. If you are talking about a general solicitor then I would say don't bother, they do not have the knowledge required. If they are an educational specialist then they should know what they are talking about legally however personal experience says that they need to show their client that they are doing a good job and they tend to nit pick at things to score points when there are no points to be won The problem is that this not going to influence a panel, it is about facts and what actually happened.
The other group of "professionals" are ex headteachers and ex admission people. Again they might or might not have good experience of admissions. At least one claims to have never lost a case, which is rather open to debate if I could put it like that.
I think it is perfectly sensible for the parents to put forward a good case for admission, if there is sufficient evidence to back up their case. What I would say is that some parents find it impossible to present a case in a public arena and that is where someone who is less emotionally attached to the case may be an advantage. But that does not have to be a very expensive professional that can be a friend or relative.

Thank you very much offering your advice and I understand where you are coming from.
I was wondering if you could by any chance look at the previous thread I started today - siblings application withdrawn - you be the judge.
It explains the reason of our appeal and I think it may be a unique case.
I really wonder what you will think about it.