I think Hopeless gave you a fairly good synopsis of how many of the larger law firms work. They have a protocol and since lawyers really like talking to lawyers, they tend to do their best work and are most successful when presenting the case to another lawyer, the ALJ. So they play the numbers. Put in little effort at the beginning levels and wait for the hearing, if it gets that far. And since they are working for a percentage of retroactive benefits, it would always be in their financial best interest that this process last long enough for them to max out their fee. However, that doesn't mean that all attorneys 'drag their feet'. Attorneys also make money from volume of approvals.

You can 'fire' your current rep and hire another. Then when there are two attorneys, the both petition for their fee and split it.

IMO, your issue with insured status and the date last insured in the past should have been addressed by your attorney at the beginning, but if you are only dealing with the support staff, they might not have the expertise to identify this issue and recognize its importance to you.

SSDI requires a certain minimum number of credits in a certain time period and if you are not found disabled as of your date last insured, you are out of luck, no matter how ill or injured you are.

SSI is the low income program that pays benefits up to a flat amount of money to disabled individuals with limited amount of assets/resources. In effect, it is a welfare program designed to keep the disabled from being homeless and hungry. Ginnie is right that it is not designed as a program that helps you get ahead.

Now would be the time to start interviewing other representatives if you are going to jump ship, and personally, I would start with a local, smaller firm if you are looking for personalized service. And make sure they understand the issue about date last insured. Now perhaps if you tell your current rep that you are dissatisfied and seriously considering changing reps, you may get them to pay more attention to you, but I also don't think you should do that without a backup plan.