Dan,

This message is not meant to disparage anyone in any way, shape, or form, but rather to supply information as I lived this process for 2 years up to an administrative law judge hearing.

Your friend is NOT available from "start to finish" as he is not representing someone and appearing at a hearing or answering a question in writing from a judge prior to one. It is misleading to think anyone but a duly-appointed representative will be there until the end of ones claim.

When one applies for an SSDI the lawyer is possibly allowed to charge you ONLY for those small fees such as getting records. He MAY NOT charge you for advice, PERIOD! Nothing is costly unless you win and then it still isn't (explained below). As a general rule, they take as many cases as they can, throw them against the wall, and hope it sticks. One might be better with a Registered Representative allowed to sign the documentation. I think the search term would be NOSSCR

By law, the fee for representation on a social security disability or SSI disability case is 25% of your award amount up to $10,000 and currently there is a maximum of $6000. If you are denied you pay nothing.

Also, if your friend is helping with the paperwork (and I had a former claims rep in SSA help me as the lawyers do not spend a ton of time with you and your claim is FAR more a legal issue than a medical one, one learns) then who is appearing with the claimant in front of an ALJ (Administrative law Judge)?

They lawyers who do this know the judges. They know what one likes to hear, and they know what is deadly wrong to say at your case. I knew ahead of time I would be asked what prevented me from testing feather beds all day and I damn well better not have said nothing. The judge wanted to hear why my malady would not allow me to last a day. All judges have trick questions to find if you are - "Generally Credible" - They know the questions they ask and they prep you to hear them. If you apply with no lawyer your documentation had best be razor sharp to the point of his saying in 5 minutes that you are approved. Most people who are disabled are in no condition to provide all the right answers. ALSO, if you have no lawyer, the ALJ immediately thinks you have a poor case as no lawyer would take it and he will probably ask you why you did not retain one. You might draw a judge who denies anyone without representation as some of them are sympathetic, and some of them can be real bastards to the sick if you came to their court unprepared and wasted their time because your documentation was a disaster to read and he is ticked-off already.

*admin edit* When you represent someone in a SSA SSDI claim you sign documents as to their representing you. Just doing it alone, as your friend's name will not be on it, shows a pretty good ability to traverse the system that is NOT usually able to be done by a disabled individual. I'm not saying it is illegal, but why would someone have a silent partner like this?

You might be collecting disability for 20, 30, or 40 years. Winning itself is an achievement. Paying $6,000 out of benefits is nothing compared to winning a case. You find someone with a track record of winning and you start reading the SSA Code yourself to keep on top of your lawyer. While your friend might be too sick to be a non-lawyer claims rep, no one not appearing regularly before an ALJ will know when you are given his name exactly what he likes to see and what he doesn't. It is a legal issue. Unless one has practiced this area, I believe that helping might well be fine. But being your sole means of representation is a very bad move as you need representation at the hearing and most cases DO go to a hearing unless you are very sick indeed.

I hope this helped someone. I also hope I made it clear that I know what I'm talking about.