For people who are no longer working and trying to get SSD or SSI benefits they want to give themselves the best chance to win but are concerned that they do not have the money to hire a lawyer. This is obviously a reasonable concern given a person applying for SSDI benefits probably has little to no income. However, it may be more affordable to get a lawyer then you might think. This is why lawyers get paid on a contingency fee basis. In almost all Social Security disability cases lawyers get paid 25% of past due benefits not to exceed $6000. The lawyer gets the lesser amount of the 25% or $6000. The lawyer only gets paid if he wins your case. Although you might not consider this to be a cheap SSD or SSI lawyer it is important to remember most lawyers in this area do not take any money upfront. So although a cheap or inexpensive lawyer might be your goal you must balance the cost of the lawyer versus how much that lawyer may help you in giving you the best chance to win your Social Security disability claim. If a lawyer you hire wins your claim for benefits in a case you may have not have one without his or her help then the cost of a lawyer is probably pretty cheap after all. Since almost all lawyers in this area of law charge the same it is important if you make the decision to hire a lawyer that you choose one after doing some research and speaking to the lawyer you are considering hiring. There is one more thing I think I should mention. Many people decide either on their own, are told by others, or lawyers not to hire a lawyer until they have been denied. However, in my opinion, since the lawyer's fee is based on past due benefits it would appear to make more sense to hire a lawyer early in the process for a couple of reasons. The first reason, if you win earlier in the process chances are the past due benefits will be less and therefore, your lawyer fee will be cheaper. The second reason is the faster you win your claim the quicker you get your monthly benefits. So if you are told by a lawyer or someone else to wait until you are denied, it may be a good idea to try and find a lawyer willing to take your case earlier. I personally like to take cases as early as I can even at application. I believe the case should be handled properly from the beginning and won as early as possible. Some lawyers do not take cases at application because they fear if they win there will be no past due benefits and they will not be paid for their work. I take a different approach for a couple of reasons. To ultimately win a Social Security disability case I feel it is important that the case is handled by a lawyer from the beginning. I also believe it is good business because I have found over the years in my practice that those who win early in their claims are extremely grateful and refer more clients to me. So if you are looking for a cheap lawyer consider this article and I hope it helps you in your decision on whether to hire a lawyer for your SSDI or SSI claim.

Many of you may ask this question when contemplating whether or not you should get a lawyer for your SSD or SSI claim. Let me first start by saying the purpose of this website is to provide free information on Social Security disability that is very difficult, if not impossible, to find elsewhere on the web. However, having this information and knowing how to apply it to your particular case in a way that gives you the best chance to win can be difficult. I will use an analogy to show this point. Bruce Lee was a martial arts expert and wrote a book on how to perform the martial arts. If I read his book and memorized every page, I would still not be able to fight as well as Bruce Lee. The reason you may want to consider a Social Security disability lawyer is because they have the experience of handling many cases like yours and should be able to develop and present your case using that experience. In my own case, I am clearly a better disability lawyer today than I was 15 years ago. So even though I provide you with a very detailed resource that I encourage you to read and that I hope will help you in achieving your goals of winning your claim you may still want to consider using an experienced SSD lawyer to represent you. Not all cases require a lawyer to win, but reading information on Social Security disability is not a substitute for professional help with your claim.

Today I am posting to give you an update as to what I have been doing with my website. I have started something new that I hope you will find interesting and participate in. From time to time, I plan to have poll questions on my website to get more insight into my readers and get their opinions on certain topics. The first poll which can be found above asked the question "do you trust the Social Security Administration to handle your Social Security disability claim fairly?" If you answer the poll question you will see the results so far. You can only vote once but you can continue to follow the progress of the poll to see how others feel about the question. I am hoping this poll and others like it will help both me and you get a better understanding of how those who are applying for SSD or SSI benefits feel about certain questions related to disability. I have also recently added a couple of new medical conditions and how they are handled by Social Security. I have also updated several of my web-pages with new content. It is my goal to have the best informational website on Social Security Disability on the Internet. I will continue to add additional content and try and find new ways to make my website both interesting and informative. As always, I wish you luck with your claims.