ILR - Postal (or) PEO

To Dear Members,
I have completed my 5 years of stay in UK a month back.
My ILR case is as follows :
I lost my passport outside UK. Procedural delays in geting new passport and returning back to UK lead to me crossing the 90 day rule for absences.
I have a record of all the correspondances with UKBA and ECO who intervened directly to grant me permission to come back.

I mailed UKBA for my ILR case and they replied that I need to present my case by writing a covering letter with all the documentary evidences for lapse of 90 days. The mail also mentions the discretionary route on compassionate grounds.

I need an advise from the members,
1. Should I apply @ PEO (or) Postal ? considering discretionary requirements
2. Even if I apply in person can the PEO turn my application be considered as postal ?
3. Should I seek legal consultation and ask solicitor to represent me ?
4. Is there any member in the forum who can shed light on the outcome of an application which needs discretion ?
5. Can the PEO hand me a letter stating the clock resetting for ILR without treating my application as Postal?

Thanks & Regards

I would be really grateful if someone can direct me to an immigration solicitor ...........

2.3 Discretion in cases where continuous residence has been broken
Time spent here may exceptionally be aggregated, and continuity not insisted upon, for cases
where:
• there have been no absences abroad (apart from those described in para 5.1 above) and
authorised employment or business here has not been broken by any interruptions of
more than three months or amounting to more than six months in total for the whole five
year period. Decisions in such cases must be taken at HEO level or above.
or
• there have been longer absences abroad, provided the absences were for compelling
grounds either of a compassionate nature or for reasons related to the applicant’s
employment or business in the United Kingdom. Where continuous residence has been
broken, periods may be aggregated or shortfalls disregarded only with the approval of an
SEO or Grade 7.
This discretion only applies where the continuity of residence has been broken due to
absences abroad. It does not apply where the lawfulness of residence in the UK has been
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broken, in other words where the applicant has overstayed during the 5 years. When
assessing whether an applicant has overstayed, caseworkers must refer to the IDIs, Chapter
1, Section 5: Section 3C and 3D of the Immigration Act 1971 (as amended).

Can someone throw light in case if approval of an SEO or Grade 7 can be sought @ PEO ???