Social Security lawyers and percent won
Do you know how to find a good lawyer? How about asking:
What percentage of cases do you win?
A high percentage of wins sounds good to many people. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will get a good lawyer.
Let me let you in a secret: lawyers know high percentages impress people. A lawyer with a 99% success record sounds better than one who wins 75% of cases. It is good marketing to keep a high percentage of wins. Not good “lawyering”, good “marketing.” That means lawyers may do anything to keep their percentages up.
How do lawyers keep a high percentage of wins? By turning away cases that may lose. That means, not …
“Combined years of experience” in legal advertising
This advertising tactic is a bit of a joke in legal circles. Yet it pops up surprisingly frequently. I am sure you have seen lawyers ads touting the “combined experience” of the lawyers in the firm:
18 years of combined legal experience
40 years of combined legal experience
90 years of combined legal experience
Even a quick check of Google reveals a number of law firms using this language.
Well, I’m here to tell you – don’t buy it!
How much will the expenses be in a Social Security disability case?
Since attorneys fees are set (and have to be approved by) Social Security, the bigger question in a Social Security disability case is the amount of the expenses. Since expenses are different in each case, clients often wonder how much they will owe.
What do I have to pay for? Copying? Faxing? Phone calls? Travel expenses? Administrative fees?!?
Personally, I try to keep things simple. I have made it a policy not to nickel and dime my clients for photocopies, faxes, phone calls or the mysterious “administrative charges.” Except for truly unusual circumstances, my clients only pay of the cost of medical records to build their case.
What happens if you have more than one lawyer on a Social Security case
Maybe you have moved out of state and had to get a new lawyer on your Social Security disability case. Maybe you fired your lawyer. Maybe your lawyer fired you. But now, you have to find a new lawyer!
What is going to happen to the attorney fees?
Do I have to pay both lawyers?
There are two things that can happen:
Maximum attorney fees increase to $6000
If you hire a lawyer on a Social Security case after today, you may be surprised to learn that the maximum fees are $6,000.
I thought the most a lawyer can charge in a Social Security case was $5,300? That’s what the attorney who helped my cousin said.
Don’t worry, no one is trying to pull a fast one. Social Security has just increased the fee cap (for the first time since 2002).
I have to pay $6,000 to hire an attorney?!?
No, the $6,000 amount is the cap on attorney fees. In most fee agreements:
You only pay fees if you win …
Lawyers’ secret gold-mine
Meet the most expensive “associate” in most law firms. More expensive than a regular lawyer. More expensive than the named partner. It’s … the photocopier.
I was recently reviewing the charges for a one of my clients who was previously represented by a national law firm. Do you know how much they were charging for copies? .35 cents a page!
That’s not all! Here is their price sheet:
Editorial: Does a home study course make you a disability representative?
I came across this video for a home study course to become representative in Social Security disability cases.
That’s right. A Home. Study. Course.
Do you want to be represented on your Social Security disability case by someone who took a home study course?
Is there a price difference between hiring a lawyer and a non-lawyer representative?
Nope. The video clearly states, non-lawyer representatives can earn up to $5,300 per case (the maximum allowed by Social Security). Update: the fee cap is $6,000 in 2011.
Since the price is the same, consider the following:
You waited two years or longer to get your case in front of a judge. Your future, the money you are going to live on, and your health insurance, depends on the outcome of your disability case. Who do you want representing you?
When should I hire a lawyer?
Here is a frequent question:
When should I hire an attorney to help me on Social Security disability benefits case?
Imagine you are skydiving for the first time. Would you wait until you are in the plane going up for your first jump before asking how to open the parachute?
You may already know that many attorneys will not take a case until the initial application has been denied. But that is not always the case!
You can hire an attorney at any time:
Before you apply. Some attorneys will help you apply and complete all the necessary paperwork and documents, online or offline.
After you apply. After the application is completed and you have a receipt for your application, the attorney helps you gather evidence for Social Security’s initial review of your case.
After the initial denial. This is when most people get an attorney. If you have been denied, the attorney helps you appeal the denial and build up your case for the hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ).
Once the hearing is scheduled / After the hearing has been continued. CAUTION
After the hearing denial. DANGER
Since I would not recommend learning how to skydive on the way up to your first jump, I believe you should hire a lawyer before steps 4 and 5.
Now that we have covered when you can hire a lawyer, let’s talk about when you should hire a lawyer.
Why can’t I find a lawyer to appeal a hearing denial?
Did you represent yourself at your Social Security disability hearing? If you were denied, you may find it is difficult to find a lawyer to represent you.
Sadly, this is a common problem. It is much harder to hire an attorney after you been denied.
Why?
It all comes down to TIME! You only have 65 day to appeal a hearing denial (5 days to receive the notice, and 60 days to get the appeal to Social Security). Note: the appeal must be received by the deadline. Postmarked by the deadline is not enough.
65 days is not a lot of time for a lawyer to do the following:
Review the hearing decision.
Review the exhibit file.
Review …
The Social Security “User Fee”
I have previously written about how Social Security (usually) pays your lawyer directly if you win your Social Security disability case.
But did you know that Social Security charges to do this. The Florida Social Security Disability Blog (in my old stomping grounds of Ocala and Gainesville), discusses the Social Security “user fee.”
The Social Security Act requires SSA to charge an assessment or “user fee” to a representative who receives all or part of his or her fee through direct payment from SSA. …
Social Security won’t talk to me BECAUSE I have a lawyer!?!
Once you hire an attorney to represent you on your Social Security case, you may find that Social Security does not want to release any more information to you. This is especially true at the Social Security ODAR (Office of Disability Adjudication and Review) offices.
Don’t worry, there is nothing nefarious going on.
It is just a general rule that once you are represented by counsel, all communication goes through your attorney. This prevents Social Security telling you one thing and your attorney being told another, or nothing at all.
However, in my experience representing claimants in Colorado, Social Security will often release information to claimants (people applying for Social Security benefits) if they ask. If you need to know the status of your case, or which Judge your case is assigned to, ODAR will give you this information.
But there is a bigger concern here:
If I have a lawyer, why am I doing all the talking?
The one thing people are most surprised about when they go to a hearing is that the lawyer does not do all of the talking. In fact, it is the claimant (aka “you”) who has to answer the Judge’s questions. I hear a lot of questions and comments about this.
I went to my hearing and my lawyer sat there like a bump on a log.
Why am I paying a lawyer, if I have to answer all of the questions?
What do you mean, I have to talk at the hearing; isn’t that what the lawyer is there for?
Why doesn’t a lawyer speak for you at the hearing?
Need a Social Security lawyer? Don’t wait until the last minute!
Pop Quiz: Do you save money by waiting to hire a lawyer/attorney until your hearing is scheduled?
Answer: No.
In a normal Social Security contingency fee agreement, you pay the same amount whether you hire an attorney a year before the hearing, or a week before the hearing.
Most Social Security disability cases are taken on a contingency fee agreement: 25% of the back benefits up to a $5,300 $6,000 cap. The new $6,000 cap goes into effect in June 2009. …
Social Security help: small town lawyers vs national law firms
There are times when dealing with a large company is great: buying a car, for example. You do not want to be working with “Joe’s Car Hut.”
But any legal matter, especially a Social Security disability claim, needs a personal touch.
As a lawyer handling Social Security cases in Colorado, I have heard many people who worked with a national firm, tell me that the first time they met their attorney was at the hearing!
That is unacceptable!
Would you get medical treatment by phone?
Would you undergo surgery without ever meeting the doctor?
Of course not!
Should you fire your Social Security lawyer?
Social Security lawyer Jonathan Ginsgerg has a great article about when NOT to fire your attorney and some of the unexpected consequences of kicking your lawyer to the curb!
A good point Jonathan brings up is that you may have a hard time finding a new lawyer willing to take your case:
Many lawyers are reluctant to accept cases where there has been a previous representation. Ethical, experienced lawyers do not want to get a reputation as “case stealers.
There is a second reason why lawyers are reluctant to take on a case that was previously the responsibility of another lawyer. Fees. … f more than one lawyer has filed an entry of appearance … oth the new lawyer and the old lawyer will be asked to file a Fee Petition…
In my office, I rarely take on cases where there has been another lawyer unless that lawyer is willing to waive his fees (in which case I could use a Fee Agreement). Fee Petitions are time consuming and, in my opinion, they also do not reflect the value of a good lawyer’s services.
I have been the second, or even the third Social Security lawyer for some of my Colorado clients. As Jonathan says, having to do a fee petition adds a lot of time to a case. But, when I believe in a case, I will do it for my client.
Also, Jonathan cautions that if you are thinking of firing your attorney, make sure you do not do it for something the lawyer has no control over. For example: how long it takes to get your case decided.
Delays in Social Security cases are not the lawyer’s fault and there is little, if anything that the lawyer can do about the delays. The delays in Social Security disability cases are a function of the number of claims filed in your area.
In general, if you are not happy with how things are going on your Social Security case, talk to your attorney. Let him or her know what is bothering you. Any good attorney should be willing to sit down with you (and your family) and discuss your concerns, frustrations and complaints.
Give your lawyer a chance to respond and make some changes.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I believe most people know if their lawyer is doing a good job for them or not. Have any of these things happened to you?
