Dan, *edit* I hope you will follow-up with what these individuals are being approved for as a Listed Impairment, or other. The primary help on my case came from a just retired SSA woman who was teaching the SSA Code to Administrative Law Judges. My understanding is that you are ONLY approved at Initial Filing by one of those, or a clear Residual Functional Capacity filing that is unfortunately quite bad.

I have helped many people to get started in the process over the years. And I have ALWAYS recommended legal representation. Even at the Initial stage it makes your claim look more legitimate as told to me by the woman who helped me.

What I have written is sage advice. That you have stated help can be expensive is, as I have explained, in the scope of things quite misleading. Paying up to about 4-5 months of benefits, and nothing if you are not awarded benefits, is not a reason to seek out any other "free" advice alone. The reason to talk to your friend is to ask if his legal representation is competent, if he is all you claim he is.

*edit*If your friend knows how to do that properly that's great. But a letter from a legal representative kindly requesting it be filled out in detail would be helpful. My primary doctor at the time filled the form out in under 3 minutes, effectively not helping me at all at the time. Had that all been handled properly at the start I might not have waited 2 years for a ALJ Hearing. Only you and/or a lawyer can send the doctor a practice copy of that form first and ask that he take the time to truly help them after speak to the doctor. No one behind the scenes can do such.