 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
The Social Security Disability Representation Fee and What a Lawyer is PaidHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits Disability lawyers are entitled to be paid up to 1/4th of an individual’s back pay, and the amount of the fee for representation is currently capped by the Social Security Administration at $6,000. This fee is not a retainer; it is awarded to the attorney contingent upon if he wins the case. In other words, if he loses the case, he cannot collect a fee (other than incidental expenses included in the fee agreement.) Social Security has raised the maximum allowable fee over the past 10 years from $4,000 to $6000. However, if you win, you do not necessarily pay the maximum. For instance, if the total back pay is $20,000, your attorney is entitled to collect only $5,000; if your total backpay is $1,200, your attorney can collect only $300, and so forth. On the other hand, as previously noted, most attorneys and non-attorney reps will include incidental expenses in their fee agreements, perhaps charges for copying, obtaining medical records, travel, etc., so be sure to read any fee agreement carefully before signing it. Incidental expenses are due regardless of a claim’s outcome. If at any point during your case you become dissatisfied with your legal representative, you can usually let him go without financial penalty, unless of course you do this right before your hearing, after he has presumably done a considerable amount of preparation and leg work. If you wait until the eleventh hour to switch representatives, your prior attorney will be more likely to dispute the fee (although, in all candor, it would be up to the attorney who is being discharged to decide whether or not he will file a fee petition, which is a claim for a portion of the representation fee, based on the work that he has performed on the case up to the time of the attorney's discharge). You may wish to check in with your attorney regularly for status updates on your case to determine if you are indeed satisfied with your representation. Switching attorneys is best done well in advance of the actual hearing. Granted, some people decide not to obtain legal counsel of any sort before their hearing; legal representation is not required at any stage of the disability process. Yet, while the idea of keeping all the back pay is understandably attractive, claimants are strongly cautioned that, according to government statistics, those who are represented by an attorney at an SSD or SSI hearing are about 50% more likely to win a case at the hearing level versus claimants who are not represented. Given the fact that it can take up to two years to get the opportunity to appear before a disability judge (due to backlogs in the system), and the fact that, should you lose your case you usually have no choice other than to give up or to start all over again with a new claim, it makes little sense to go before a judge without adequate preparation, which usually implies legal assistance. The stakes are simply too high at this level of representation to take any unnecessary risks. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Individual Questions and Answers SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |