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What attorneys should know

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  • 1
    If you used an attorney for your application or anytime before a hearing - what did they do to bring value to the process. Or, if you had a bad experience, what went wrong, and what would have been better in helping you navigate this step
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  • 2
    What is the good and bad of your experiences. What type of communication works best for you, in an ideal word? How long should it take to get a response back when you call or reach out? Is it better to have a dedicated point of contact in addition to the attorney that you always know will be up-to-date on your case and know what's going on, or do you prefer a different setup?
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  • 3
    Were fees clearly explained to you? Did your fee agreement explain the contingent fee up to the cap set by the Commissioner? Was it explained that that amount + the cap would include any auxiliary benefits coming from your award of disability (but not beyond the cap)? Did you attorney use a two-tiered fee agreement allowing them to petition for more than the cap if they had to appeal to the Appeals Council or go to federal court? What was the structure in that case? Was the fee proposed in that circumstance sent to you for review and approval and was it fair? What else should attorneys know about the fees, since they are set by the government and not by the attorney?
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  • 4
    Did you attorney agree to appeal beyond an ALJ hearing to the Appeals Council or Federal Court? Did they refer the case at that point, or did they drop the case, or recommend you file a new claim? If they recommended a new claim (Social Security doesn't permit claimant's to file a new claim *and* appeal until they get to federal court) did the attorney explain a good reason why that was in your best interest vs. appealing? What else would you want attorneys to know about navigating the post hearing appeals process?
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  • 5
    How involved was your attorney in getting your medical records, helping you by reviewing any questionnaires you needed to complete and seeking opinions from your doctors. What could they have done better, and how was their process in helping understand what was needed, what was missing and what would help build you a winning case?
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  • 6
    Ultimately - it's just people. Maybe it's a call center full of people in some remote location, or it's a single attorney working on their own, or it's a small firm with a few attorneys and a few paralegals, but people can get things right or they can get things really wrong. What went well, what went wrong, and what would you want an attorney to know to make navigating this awful, arbitrary experience better.
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