Choosing a Social Security Disability Law Firm

If you need to file a claim for Social Security Disability Benefits, you need to have an experienced law firm on your side. There are several important questions you need to ask about any firm you are considering:

1. Is the company you are considering a law firm?
To be a Social Security representative, a person does not have to be a lawyer. Many companies that advertise as representatives are not affiliated with lawyers and do not send lawyers to the hearing with their clients.

A lawyer will generally have more qualified experience behind them than a non-lawyer representative. Keep in mind that a non-lawyer representative has not been to law school, has not taken a course in advocacy, and cannot appeal to the federal courts if they lose your case. Most importantly, the non-lawyer representative does not have to be licensed.

The decision to hire a lawyer should not be a decision based on costs. Non-lawyer representatives normally charge the same fee that lawyers charge. The charge is usually 25% of past due benefits, and the charge is generally only paid if the representative is successful. If it costs no more to have a licensed lawyer representing you, why would you choose less in such an important matter?

2. Will the firm agree to represent you without charging any fees unless you win your case?
Under the Social Security law, an attorney normally charges 25% of past due benefits if the claim for benefits is won. If the law firm you are talking to is asking for more than 25% of past due benefits, you should know that this is not the normal fee.

3. If you go to a hearing, will a lawyer attend the hearing with you?
All law firms that represent claimants in Social Security Disability cases have to use paralegals as case managers to handle the immense amount of paperwork that is generated by these cases. However, there is a line that you must draw when dealing with paralegals in a law firm setting. Many law firms send their paralegals to the final evidentiary hearing on their Social Security claims. A lawyer does not attend the final hearing.

At Kinsell, Zadel & Whitaker, no client goes to any Social Security hearing without a person who is fully trained in the law and qualified under government regulations to represent claimants at these hearings. The Administrative Law Judge, who is also the government’s representative, is a trained lawyer. We insist that a person also trained in the law be with our client at this most important hearing.