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How a social security lawyer can help you

How a lawyer can help ...

Do you need a social security lawyer? If you are filing for social security retirement or disability benefits or appealing the denial of benefits, you will want to consider hiring a social security attorney, either as your consultant or your representative, to help you navigate the Social Security Administration’s bureaucracy.

A social security lawyer can help…

  1. File for benefits. A social security specialist can help you file for either retirement, disability and/or medical benefits with the social security office. Your attorney can, for example:
    • Navigate the complex rules and paperwork involved
    • Get information from your Social Security file
    • Gather medical and vocational evidence to support your claim
    • Help with Supplemental Security Income benefits and Medicare
  2. Advise you of your steps to appeal disallowed claims. There are four levels of appeal when benefits are denied. The first level is called “reconsideration.” This is an informal review of the original benefits application and almost half of the appeals at this level are successful. You can obtain the Request for Reconsideration form from the SSA website and use an attorney as a coach to improve your chances of success on appeal (see #3, below). The last three levels involve an administrative hearing before and an administrative law judge, the Appeals Council in Washington D.C. or a lawsuit in federal court. A social security lawyer is highly advised if you wish to take your appeal this far.
  3. Act as a legal coach. If you prefer to represent yourself, consider using a social security lawyer as a legal coach to (1) help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your case, (2) outline the factual proof and legal issues involved, (3) inform you of the correct legal processes, (4) point out any problem areas, (5) help you draft papers; (6) coach you during the trial or hearing; or (7) represent you if at some point you feel you can no longer go it alone.
  4. Represent you at an administrative hearing or in court. If your claim has been denied at the initial level and you were not represented by an attorney, you are usually better off bringing in an attorney to appeal the decision to the Appeals Council or to federal court.