If you’ve found a disability attorney who will meet with you to talk about your Social Security disability claim, it’s important to go to that meeting prepared. If the lawyer sees that you're organized and can explain your disability concisely, he or she may be more likely to take your case.
The attorney will first want to get a good sense of the timeline of your claim. Be ready to give the date you think your disability began. For some people, this is the date of an injury; for others, it's the last day they were able to work. If you've already applied to Social Security for SSDI or SSI benefits, know the approximate date of your initial application and any denials.
What to Bring to a Meeting With a Disability Lawyer
Before you go, take a few minutes to write down a record of the places you've worked over the last fifteen years, with approximate dates. If you've worked recently, include details on work you had to miss due to your disability.
If you have any of your medical records, including imaging or blood test results, bring them with you. If not, bring a list of the doctors you've seen over the past few years, along with their contact information. A lawyer may also want to see a list of the medications you take and the various treatments you've tried.
If you've already applied for disability, the information above should be in your initial application, adult disability report, and work history report, so you can bring copies of those forms instead. In fact, bring a copy of all correspondence from Social Security, including denial letters and hearing notices (but don't worry if some are missing; the lawyer will be able to get a copy of your Social Security file if he or she agrees to represent you).
Finally, if you keep a journal that details your pain levels or the impact of your injuries or conditions on your daily life, take it with you to your consultation.
Questions to Ask a Potential Disability Lawyer
An initial consultation with a disability lawyer is not, of course, entirely about providing the attorney with information and documents. You're entitled to ask questions of the lawyer to make sure you would feel comfortable working with him or her. Here are a few questions you may want answers to.
- How long have you been practicing Social Security disability law and what percentage of your practice is devoted to it? (You're looking for a specialist in SSDI/SSI, so you want a lawyer with at least a few years of experience who spends the majority of his or her time on it.)
- How many Social Security disability hearings have you handled, and how many of the claimants were approved for benefits? (Note that the average approval rate for claimants with a lawyer is around 60%; see our disability study for details.)
- Will you handle my claim personally, or will it be passed on to someone else in the firm? (It’s common for lawyers to delegate tasks to legal assistants, but your lawyer should oversee their work and represent you at your hearing.)
- Are there "out-of-pocket" costs you'll charge me for, and do they need to be paid up front, or how will they be handled? (The lawyer may front the costs for medical records or transportation to doctors' visits, for example.)
- Will you charge me more than 25% of my SSDI or SSI back payments? (Some lawyers use "two-tier" fee agreements, where they'll charge you 25% of your back pay, up to $7,200, to represent you in front of Social Security—the maximum Social Security allows—but may charge more if they have to appeal to federal court.)
- What are the potential problems you see with my claim? (The lawyer may have reservations with your claim, for instance, if you haven't regularly seen a doctor, you haven't worked recently enough to be insured for SSDI, or you're receiving unemployment benefits.)
More: Turned Down by a Disability Lawyer. What Do Lawyers Look for in a Social Security Case?