Any good social security disability lawyers? (1 Viewer)

... in the bay area?? Cousin's state disability is running out and want to get a lawyer (not binder and binder and such places where you are not given the all) who will not charge for services unless they win the case and have a great winning rate.

Why can't he work?

CurlyNight said:

... in the bay area?? Cousin's state disability is running out and want to get a lawyer (not binder and binder and such places where you are not given the all) who will not charge for services unless they win the case and have a great winning rate.

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Is your cousin going to give the lawyer 40% of his disability income?

I know places like Binder and Binder take max $6000 if they win the case. I've heard bad things about agencies that do only ss disability and I know the SSA don't like them. I'm looking to see if anyone knows of anyone fair and good in the bay area in CA. I've heard some good stories of some lawyers, but they aren't from here.

There is a defined maximum (statutory) of what an attorney will be able to take, and it's limited to back pay. There are few really good social security disability attorneys out there who solely do that.

However, a lot of good personal I jury attorneys also handle ssdi on the side for their clients who are really messed up by the injury. Might want to ask around and see if you know any good pi attorneys in the area.

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

I would recommend finding an attorney who specializes in disability law. The SSA disability regulatory system can be rather complicated, so it helps to have someone who is familiar with the regulations, administrative processes, and even the administrative law judges. I don't know any particular disability attorneys in the Bay Area, but you may be able to find some reviews online.

Buckfast 1 said:

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

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Geez, I sure hope there isn't much work involved in these types of cases.

bigbottom said:

Buckfast 1 said:

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

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Geez, I sure hope there isn't much work involved in these types of cases.

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Depends. I do these for my PI clients. Depends on the case. Sometimes I get $1000 for ten hours or so. Sometimes I get $6000 for a multi-year battle.It's worth it to put the client in a position where he's not at the mercy of the tortfeasor or insurance company, though, and can live until settlement or trial.

bigbottom said:

Buckfast 1 said:

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

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Geez, I sure hope there isn't much work involved in these types of cases.

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The Social Security attorney can generally also recover attorney fees from the federal government under the EAJA statute if the case is appealed to federal court and the plaintiff ultimately prevails in federal court. Those EAJA payments are generally in the $4,000 to $8,000 range.

But yeah, it is my understanding that SSA disability law is essentially a high volume practice for plaintiff's attorneys since they are largely limited by statute in the amount of attorney fees that they can obtain. The nature of this high volume practice is why I could see some clients complaining that disability attorneys do not always give their all in every case because in reality those attorneys are working a very large number of cases in hopes of a payoff in maybe half of them.

Henry Ford said:

bigbottom said:

Buckfast 1 said:

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

Click to expand...

Geez, I sure hope there isn't much work involved in these types of cases.

Click to expand...

Depends. I do these for my PI clients. Depends on the case. Sometimes I get $1000 for ten hours or so. Sometimes I get $6000 for a multi-year battle.It's worth it to put the client in a position where he's not at the mercy of the tortfeasor or insurance company, though, and can live until settlement or trial.

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That makes sense. I have a friend who is a PI lawyer, and he will sometimes have to cover mortgage, utilities, other bills for his client while the case is pending (which can be years). I can see how getting disability would be important to help defray those expenses.

bigbottom said:

Henry Ford said:

bigbottom said:

Buckfast 1 said:

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

Click to expand...

Geez, I sure hope there isn't much work involved in these types of cases.

Click to expand...

Depends. I do these for my PI clients. Depends on the case. Sometimes I get $1000 for ten hours or so. Sometimes I get $6000 for a multi-year battle.It's worth it to put the client in a position where he's not at the mercy of the tortfeasor or insurance company, though, and can live until settlement or trial.

Click to expand...

That makes sense. I have a friend who is a PI lawyer, and he will sometimes have to cover mortgage, utilities, other bills for his client while the case is pending (which can be years). I can see how getting disability would be important to help defray those expenses.

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Yeah, I just can't afford to lay out dozens of thousands of dollars per client like that. Nor am I a bank. I just don't lend out money on cases, and wouldn't even if I could afford to.

I was going to say what others have said so there really is no reason for me to post here.

Henry Ford said:

bigbottom said:

Henry Ford said:

bigbottom said:

Buckfast 1 said:

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

Click to expand...

Geez, I sure hope there isn't much work involved in these types of cases.

Click to expand...

Depends. I do these for my PI clients. Depends on the case. Sometimes I get $1000 for ten hours or so. Sometimes I get $6000 for a multi-year battle.It's worth it to put the client in a position where he's not at the mercy of the tortfeasor or insurance company, though, and can live until settlement or trial.

Click to expand...

That makes sense. I have a friend who is a PI lawyer, and he will sometimes have to cover mortgage, utilities, other bills for his client while the case is pending (which can be years). I can see how getting disability would be important to help defray those expenses.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I just can't afford to lay out dozens of thousands of dollars per client like that. Nor am I a bank. I just don't lend out money on cases, and wouldn't even if I could afford to.

Click to expand...

Yeah, my buddy told me that you often have to do that to get the big number cases.

bigbottom said:

Henry Ford said:

bigbottom said:

Henry Ford said:

bigbottom said:

Buckfast 1 said:

Social Security attorneys are prohibited by federal statute from charging attorney fees in Social Security disability cases, except for contingency fees if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits. The statute provides that, if the claimant is found to be entitled to benefits, the attorney can recover a contingency fee of 25% of the claimant's past due benefits up to a maximum of $6,000. The attorney could potentially ask for some minimals fees up front to cover various mailing and copying expenses, but it shouldn't be much more than $100 or so. You shouldn't have any problem finding a Social Security attorney who will not charge for legal services unless they win the case.

Click to expand...

Geez, I sure hope there isn't much work involved in these types of cases.

Click to expand...

Depends. I do these for my PI clients. Depends on the case. Sometimes I get $1000 for ten hours or so. Sometimes I get $6000 for a multi-year battle.It's worth it to put the client in a position where he's not at the mercy of the tortfeasor or insurance company, though, and can live until settlement or trial.

Click to expand...

That makes sense. I have a friend who is a PI lawyer, and he will sometimes have to cover mortgage, utilities, other bills for his client while the case is pending (which can be years). I can see how getting disability would be important to help defray those expenses.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I just can't afford to lay out dozens of thousands of dollars per client like that. Nor am I a bank. I just don't lend out money on cases, and wouldn't even if I could afford to.

Click to expand...

Yeah, my buddy told me that you often have to do that to get the big number cases.

Click to expand...

Sometimes. Depends.

I get a lot of cases no one else will touch. I like tilting at windmills.