If you’re thinking about hiring a lawyer for your Social Security disability case, no doubt you have a lot of questions about how they get paid and whether they’ll truly be on your side. Lawyers often get a bad rap but a good lawyer has your interests in mind and can make your disability application and appeal go much more smoothly. Below are four reasons why disability lawyers are motivated to help you win your case as quickly as possible.
A disability lawyer is required by law to act in the best interests of their clients. Extending a disability case for months just to increase their own pay would not be in a client's best interests. If a lawyer were to do that, they could face disciplinary action and a client could possibly sue them for malpractice.
Related: What do disability lawyers do that I can't?
Understanding how lawyers get paid is the useful for understanding their motivations. Disability lawyers are paid a contingency fee, which means you only pay them if they win your case. Dragging out your case would only force a lawyer to wait longer to get paid. And if they do anything that could make your case harder to win, they're decreasing their own chances of getting paid.
If you win your benefits claim, your disability lawyer will receive 25% of your first paycheck and their fee is also capped at $7,200, by law, in 2023. So even if your case takes years, your lawyer can only earn up to the same maximum amount.
A disability lawyer’s payment structure can’t change either. So if you’re referred to your lawyer by another law firm — like when Atticus matches you with a disability attorney — both get some of the fee, but your lawyer can’t charge you a higher rate because of it.
Remember, you only pay a fee to your disability lawyer if you win your case. The SSA then automatically takes their fee out of your first disability check. That’s usually your biggest check since it includes back pay. Back pay is the money you were owed during all the time it took from your initial application until your approval — minus five months that the SSA doesn’t pay you for because it’s considered the reasonable processing time for an application.
As an example, if it takes 18 months from the time you submitted your disability application until you win your claim, your first benefits check will include back pay worth 13 months of benefits. Any lawyer fee you owe will come directly out of that check. Then your monthly payments will arrive according to the regular SSI and SSDI payment schedules.
Still have questions? Try our guide on how much disability lawyers cost.
Since the lawyer’s fee comes out of your back pay and a longer case means more back pay, you may be asking why a lawyer wouldn’t try to drag out your case to get a bigger cut. But dragging out a case unnecessarily increases the risk that your claim is denied. Lawyers won’t make that gamble because it could result in a lost payment and an unhappy customer — a lose-lose outcome.
Here are a few specific reasons why a lawyer won’t benefit from a longer case:
While a lawyer can’t make the Social Security Administration move any faster, they can help you build a stronger case that’s more likely to get approved. By working with a lawyer on your disability case, your chance of winning will be three times higher than applying by yourself.
Here are five benefits you gain from having a lawyer help you:
Finding the right lawyer can take time and know-how. At Atticus, we’ve built a trusted network of lawyers so you don’t have to do the research. To get started, fill out our free 2-minute disability quiz. Then we’ll reach out to learn more about your situation and connect you to a lawyer who’ll be by your side the whole way.
A disability lawyer can help fill out your application, gather medical records, schedule medical care, and appeal denials. Lawyers have access to information on your case that the SSA may not share with you, and they’ll know how to best present your situation in a court hearing with an SSA judge (most people need a hearing). Applicants with lawyers are three times more likely to win benefits. Read more about what disability lawyers actually do for you.
A lawyer isn’t required and you can win benefits without a lawyer. However, the process is complicated and technical — especially when you get to a court hearing. Working with a good lawyer triples your chances of winning an appeal.
Disability lawyers have a standard fee of 25% of your first check, up to a maximum of $7,200. Your lawyer only gets paid once and only if you win. If you don’t win benefits, you won’t pay anything. The fee can sound high but it comes out of your first check, which includes the months (or even years) of back pay that you’re entitled to. Learn more about disability lawyer fees.
The average disability appeal takes more than a year. Having a lawyer won’t slow down that process. In some cases, like if you hire them right before a hearing, your lawyer might request a later hearing date to better prepare for your case. But lawyers don’t drag out cases because they only get paid when you do.
Disability lawyers handle both SSDI and SSI cases, but many do focus on SSDI. To find a disability lawyer near you, use our 2-minute disability benefits quiz.
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Jackie Jakab
Lead Attorney
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