If you fire him, he will still be entitled to his fees. You're cutting your nose off to spite your face. If you insist on representing yourself pro se,or if you wish to hire another attorney or non attorney representative, I would recommend you encourage him to dismiss you so that he won't be able to collect any of your potential fees. You might consider researching if there are any non-profit disability advocacy groups in your area that would represent you.

You can request an earlier court date by submitting a dire need letter. It is not unheard of to receive an emergency hearing date within a few weeks.

Inquire at your attorney's office if there is someone else at his firm that can represent you if there is another scheduling conflict. Express your dismay that you were not consulted prior to the hearing change. You may want to do this via email or fax to create a paper trail should you wish to contest his fees later on. Was your ALJ hearing scheduled with the same ALJ or a new one, btw? If you were stuck with the same ALJ, the request to change the date might possibly have been an attempt to pull a different ALJ.

Have you ever attempted to utilize the free services of Vocational Rehabilitation? They will provide testing and even send you to doctors to evaluate what work, if any, you can perform--which you can than submit to SS.

Anyone dealing with severe health problems and the emotional and financial consequences of permanent disability, will have a level of stress that is difficult, if not impossible to deal with alone. This is absolutely not a personal insult or attack, and please don't consider that it is. It is incredibly common to develop issues (depression is the most common, for example) following the life altering circumstances of permanent disability, let alone the effects that prolonged stress can cause from a legal battle for disability benefits of any kind (such as WC or LTD, in addition to SSDI). I personally found it very helpful to see a therapist that was experienced with disabled clients in order for me to get some perspective about my new life. In hindsight, I should have done so prior to my SSDI approval--it would have made my journey so much easier. If you have not included any psych claims as part of your application, an evaluation would be appropriate before your ALJ hearing. It would be appropriate for ANYONE that has had a 10 year battle with SS, in the middle of a serious medical crisis, and is permanently disabled. It could be the tipping point between approval or denial, if your physical claim is just below the thresh hold for approval.