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| Brought to you by the Social Security Disability Law Office of Stephanie O. Joy, Esq. Helping clients, one-on-one, in all 50 U.S. States Ph: 201-317-0610 Email: SsiHelp@ptd.net Fax: 570-424-2384 |
You may be saying, "Well of course not, a client means a fee! You make
money! Why would you refuse?" In a perfect world, you are right. But this
is not a perfect world. Here is what happens: (And, those who have
difficulty finding a lawyer willing to take their case, know this intimately!)
Most SSA disability representatives (attorneys and non-attorneys) seek
to make a living. Yes, even me. (If they work for a firm or company, they
often have no real say in whether they will take a case.) Given that
representing claimants before the SSA does not pay a standard legal
rate, a competent representative will generally not end up being paid a
fee that pays him for all his hours of work, in most cases. (Notice I said a
competent representative - an incompetent one who, through sheer luck
of numbers, wins the case, may get paid far more than he worked.) For
this reason, attorneys that want a more prestigous life with some really
great material luxuries, don't choose this field. Mergers and
Acquisitions, perhaps. Or high end personal injury cases. Those that
do, still need to make a living, or else they must close up shop. And
most still strive to tailor their practices so that all winning cases result in
a paid fee - paid by direct withholding and payment by the SSA. There
is nothing wrong with that - they have no obligation to be a charity
business or a legal aid entity. They know that some winnable cases
simply don't provide for a legal fee and may avoid those.
These include:
The above scenarios mean either that it is a case that will not likely result
in a fee, when you win it, OR, that the case is very labor intensive and not
economically worth the hours involved. Most practices have a policy of
not taking on claimants that fall into one or more of the above
categories, regardless of how deserving the person is, and how in need.
Here in my practice, we don't deny ANYONE on the basis of ANY of
these categories. That means that sometimes we take cases
understanding that there will no fee when we win. But, good things come
anyway - And it is the right thing to do. We take these cases that may
be ProBono. It also means we take cases that REQUIRE we loan the
claimant funds for his out of pockets if he is to have a properly
represented case for best chances of a WIN. Where does that money
come from? Donations. With out donations, we couldn't do it. The
Donations come from here, at times. But the majority comes from
donations generated by my volunteer work at JustAnswer.com - the work
is voluntary, the proceeds paid by appreciative visitors on an Honor
Code system at that site. Either way it is all good, except the latter does
deprive me of Office time for actually working on cases. Which, by
necessity, limits further the number of cases I can accept overall, and in
a ProBono capacity. But, without it, I could likely take very few such
cases, and still ensure I can keep the lights on.
Here is why I think it very important that attorneys take such cases, and
why I strive to always be able to:
The winning client's life may be a tad easier, due to a little monthly
money coming in the door. A good person who has worked his or her
whole life trying to be a good person, whether or not he has always
succeeded, deserves to have some measure of income to survive on. I
can't win him the lottery, but I can do this for him. Or the availability of
Medicare or Medicaid. For those without medical insurance though the
VA or through a spouse's employer are screwed - I can not tell you how
badly. If I can help that person, win benefits they would likely otherwise
not be able to secure, it makes my day
No, it doesn't pay the bills, and the limits of how many such cases I can
take are necessarily based on the time available after the bills are paid.
That does stink :( But I can't emphasize how much donations make a
difference there!
Here are some examples of who these donations have helped:
So yes, Donations here help support our ability to continue to 'level the
disability playing field, in an otherwise uneven game.' The laws
should not just work and be available for those with money, in the USA,
they should be available for all. Thank you for donating whatever
you can that won't cause you to do without.
money! Why would you refuse?" In a perfect world, you are right. But this
is not a perfect world. Here is what happens: (And, those who have
difficulty finding a lawyer willing to take their case, know this intimately!)
Most SSA disability representatives (attorneys and non-attorneys) seek
to make a living. Yes, even me. (If they work for a firm or company, they
often have no real say in whether they will take a case.) Given that
representing claimants before the SSA does not pay a standard legal
rate, a competent representative will generally not end up being paid a
fee that pays him for all his hours of work, in most cases. (Notice I said a
competent representative - an incompetent one who, through sheer luck
of numbers, wins the case, may get paid far more than he worked.) For
this reason, attorneys that want a more prestigous life with some really
great material luxuries, don't choose this field. Mergers and
Acquisitions, perhaps. Or high end personal injury cases. Those that
do, still need to make a living, or else they must close up shop. And
most still strive to tailor their practices so that all winning cases result in
a paid fee - paid by direct withholding and payment by the SSA. There
is nothing wrong with that - they have no obligation to be a charity
business or a legal aid entity. They know that some winnable cases
simply don't provide for a legal fee and may avoid those.
These include:
- Claimants who just filed their initial application and just became
disabled recently. - Claimants who have not yet started their application but just
became disabled recently. - Claimants whose case reflects that back benefits have not started
to accrue. - Claimants who are only potentially eligible for SSI.
- Claimants who have not been able to get medical treatment yet.
- Claimants who are unable to fill out the forms themselves.
- Claimants who were once insured for SSD, but haven't worked in
so long that they lost insured status already. - Young claimants (under 50, 40, 30, 20, depending on the law office
policy). - The claimant is broke and will be unable to afford those out of
pocket expenses that are generally his responsibility, such as
medical records charges by the doctor or hospital, UPS charges,
fax charges, print/copy charges, expert report charges.
The above scenarios mean either that it is a case that will not likely result
in a fee, when you win it, OR, that the case is very labor intensive and not
economically worth the hours involved. Most practices have a policy of
not taking on claimants that fall into one or more of the above
categories, regardless of how deserving the person is, and how in need.
Here in my practice, we don't deny ANYONE on the basis of ANY of
these categories. That means that sometimes we take cases
understanding that there will no fee when we win. But, good things come
anyway - And it is the right thing to do. We take these cases that may
be ProBono. It also means we take cases that REQUIRE we loan the
claimant funds for his out of pockets if he is to have a properly
represented case for best chances of a WIN. Where does that money
come from? Donations. With out donations, we couldn't do it. The
Donations come from here, at times. But the majority comes from
donations generated by my volunteer work at JustAnswer.com - the work
is voluntary, the proceeds paid by appreciative visitors on an Honor
Code system at that site. Either way it is all good, except the latter does
deprive me of Office time for actually working on cases. Which, by
necessity, limits further the number of cases I can accept overall, and in
a ProBono capacity. But, without it, I could likely take very few such
cases, and still ensure I can keep the lights on.
Here is why I think it very important that attorneys take such cases, and
why I strive to always be able to:
The winning client's life may be a tad easier, due to a little monthly
money coming in the door. A good person who has worked his or her
whole life trying to be a good person, whether or not he has always
succeeded, deserves to have some measure of income to survive on. I
can't win him the lottery, but I can do this for him. Or the availability of
Medicare or Medicaid. For those without medical insurance though the
VA or through a spouse's employer are screwed - I can not tell you how
badly. If I can help that person, win benefits they would likely otherwise
not be able to secure, it makes my day
No, it doesn't pay the bills, and the limits of how many such cases I can
take are necessarily based on the time available after the bills are paid.
That does stink :( But I can't emphasize how much donations make a
difference there!
Here are some examples of who these donations have helped:
- Some Vietnam vets who haven't worked in a decade, haven't
been treated in 10 years, and haven' t been insured with SSD for
even more years, are and have been my clients. Good chance of
winning? Nope, at least not by others' standards, not even mine,
or so I thought. But all else being equal, in an effort to give back to
these unsung Heros, whom without I may not be so free or so
fortunate, I feel a duty here. I wish more people did. If there is a
10% or 5% chance of winning for them, after putting in a 150%
effort, they deserve the representation, the chance, to have their
life made a little easier. And so I take them as clients, so long as I
see that glimmer of chance. (I won't lead them along, however,
they have to be advised of the hurdles and the chances) I am often
pleasantly surprised, albeit, a little tighter in the wallet :) In fact,
don't think I have lost one of those yet. - Homeless individuals - I have had the privilege of representing
some individuals whose medical circumstances have resulted in
extremely dire living arrangements, living in shelter, in a car, in the
park, etc. Nobody seems to want these cases because they are
sooo labor intensive...often lack medical evidence....you lose track
of your client because she's been removed for a shelter and has
no phone (thank goodness for cell phone technology and public
libaries that provide internet access - a free yahoo email account
and at least we have some common place to meet!). And I can not
tell you the gratitude I feel when we win. That is one less person
living without a roof. One less person living with no medical care.
So yes, Donations here help support our ability to continue to 'level the
disability playing field, in an otherwise uneven game.' The laws
should not just work and be available for those with money, in the USA,
they should be available for all. Thank you for donating whatever
you can that won't cause you to do without.
Here at my Disability Law office, we do
not EVER refuse to provide
representation services to a claimant that
we believe has a viable case (even if it will
be a tough battle). (Note: An exception may lie
if the individual is rude, disrespectful, nasty, etc.)
not EVER refuse to provide
representation services to a claimant that
we believe has a viable case (even if it will
be a tough battle). (Note: An exception may lie
if the individual is rude, disrespectful, nasty, etc.)
| All amounts, big or small - you decide. "Why?" you ask. Let me tell you.... |
