BS stands for Baker Small and they are in trouble

[senvet]

See BS thread for the latest, but they tweeted gloating tweets, at least 3 LAs have issued strong responses and the solicitor has had to refer himself to his own disciplinary body.

I wonder if they take evidence from the general public?

I have made a formal complain to SRA and they have acknowledged it. They say they are investigating.

He seems to have booted his staff out - solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/organisation/people/473931/baker-small-legal-services-limited?Solicitors=True

I don't normally post on social media but feel compelled to on this subject. We have just returned from an SEN tribunal where we were represented by Mark Small. We have had an horrendous two years where our high functioning autistic daughter has missed the majority of her secondary education. She was attending a special school for girls with ASD on Surrey ; however her mental health deteriorated to the extent she no longer could attend. This led to a massive breakdown and the school saying they could not meet her needs . Despite an annual review where all present agreed she needed more specialist provision Surrey refused to amend her EHCP. So since January not only have we been caring for a mentally unwell autistic daughter we have been battling for provision. This is where Mark Small came in . We identified a therapeutic ASD school which we felt was perfect for her. Surrey refused and named completely inappropriate provision. We then asked Mark to represent us. He has been amazing, thorough and supportive. I feel he has been the victim of a media witch hunt. The outcome today was that Surrey conceded within 30 mins! My advice would be don't join a media witch hunt . He is a lovely man who is just fantastic at his job. Unfortunately people think it's him arguing against provision. It's not its your LA! Mark is now mostly representing parents. Don't believe everything you read on social media!!

Sue Burt it's lovely of you to stick up for Mark Small, lots of parents have been on the receiving end though sadly. I don't think it's a witch hunt, I think that's what lots of parents experience though. I'm glad you got what your child needed and that you were able to instruct a lawyer, many parents aren't in that position.

Basically he's a gun for hire. It's a game, and he's paid to win it, so it doesn't really matter what side he chooses to argue. Neither one can be taken to be a true reflection of his personal beliefs.

I'm glad that you got the outcome you were looking for, but it's a shame we're in a system where you have to employ a lawyer to do it.

Thanks for sharing your story Sue but as spoc says we have heard many many stories from the other side!!

At the end of the day MS is making money out of the misery of tribunals!!

On the other hand I know someone who has recently been taken all the way to the tribunal by a local authority represented by him where the LA hadn't managed to find a placement that was prepared to offer a place but they still opposed the placement the family wanted. Apparently the tribunal was almost embarrassing because the LA simply had no arguments, but MS refused to concede beforehand and made the family go through all the stress of the hearing.

SueBurt, did you actually read the tweets that led to the current state of affairs? Surely you don't think they were acceptable?

As this thread was resurrected in his defence, it did cross my mind that it was MS himself writing.

If the post is genuine then I agree that 'hired gun' is about the best description.

I have other suggestions for descriptions of people who treat parents with this level of contempt but they aren't suitable for posting. I get completely that the pomp and arrogance that exists within the legal profession survives because of a sense of winning and losing but cannot understand what happens to the human beings that operate within such a system without integrity or compassion. Probably deeply damaged individuals who are good actors and this allows them to play the roles they do in court rooms and in manipulating their customers?

I don't think you can generalise like that about the legal profession, Spoc. For instance, there is a large number of lawyers who work in the legal aid and charity sector for peanuts who are doing it out of a sense of social justice and not out of any sort of "pomp and arrogance".

Within the SEN world people have been saying that there are some lawyers who work for local authorities with whom they have no problem because, although they fight hard, they fight fair. They never say that of MS. He comes over, as he did in his tweets, as actively despising the parents of disabled children. You certainly do have to wonder how someone like that lives with himself at the end of a day's work knowing that he has deprived yet another vulnerable child of the support he desperately needs.

amunt, similar thoughts crossed my mind.

I agree there are good ones that's why I said I can't understand what happens to the ones that operate within such a system without integrity or compassion. I am sorry if that wasn't clear I wasn't saying all lawyers operate like that!! I believe that even those that work within charities are all wonderful either, sorry if that offends anyone. There's good and otherwise everywhere and some charity careerists too in my opinion.

Sorry that should have said don't believe.

SueBurt - The thing about a "media witch-hunt" is that for it to be a witch-hunt the allegations have to be unfounded and/or untrue. These are not groundless allegations against him. I was one of many who participated in this so-called witch-hunt on twitter (as did several others who post on mumsnet). I have first-hand experience of MS tactics - as did the majority of others who participated. This is why it seemingly spiraled out of control so quickly after his disgraceful initial tweets. The majority of us who took part have directly come across MS whilst attempting to achieve desperately needed provision for our children. We have personally witnessed the tactics he advises LAs to deploy against parents of disabled children.

SueBurt – Did you read The Guardian article about his tactics? Sadly it was printed during Brexit so the article got buried. One family reported that MS (aka Baker Small) “was so aggressive in its quest for Emma’s medical records that doctors at Great Ormond Street children’s hospital became concerned and, during a hearing, a tribunal judge had to request the company desist from bothering medical staff there.” Emma has leukemia and austim.

Here’s the Guardian article again

Simply inhumane - the law firm that fights parents seeking help for children's special needs

I think he has no morals - it's whoever pays his bills that he cares about. So yes at best he is a "hired gun". However, it’s one thing to be an aggressive hired legal gun for say a large corporate company protecting eg its IP, but another thing when it’s a gun aimed at disabled children and their parents (who are already at their wits end).

How interesting that Sueburt felt strongly enough about this to register on MN and post here, but doesn't feel strongly enough to come back.

Oh I am still here! And am in possession of all facts and read all articles regarding the situation. However I am not a frequent visitor to social media. I merely reported things as I experienced them . As a family we have been through hell caring for a mentally ill autistic daughter who has been out of school for most of the last two years. All I did was explain my experience of Baker Small and reiterate its the LA who direct the decisions. I stand by what I said, Mark Small was amazing for us - he's just bloody good at his job. Direct your anger at your LEAs

If he didn't like what LAs were asking him to do, why did he continue acting for them? Why didn't he tell them he refused to act in that way? Why doesn't he do it now? By all accounts in the few cases where he is still acting for LAs he has not changed his tactics. And rumour has it that the LAs who took their files back are not at all happy about what they reveal about what has been going on in their name.

Did you see the tweets that got him into trouble? He made it very clear that he regards the parents of disabled children who dare to try to fight for them as figures of fun, and that he thinks it's fine to gloat over them on social media. He's not someone I would fancy instructing.

I need to catch up with what has happened on this but my MP wrote to me and said our LA has decided not to use this individual any more.