I am disabled and have no money, how does my attorney get paid?

I am disabled and have no money, 

how does my attorney get paid?

By Nicholas Wearne, Associate Attorney

If you are applying for disability it means that you are unable to work.  Savings are likely running out and most of my clients are living with friends and family.  The question often comes during initial consultations “How am I supposed to pay you?” 

There are lots of rules about how attorneys get paid for helping Social Security Disability applicants but the answer to how I get paid is simple.  If I am successful in helping a client qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, there will be money owed to them back to around the time they had to stop working.  I charge 25% of the back pay or $6,000 dollars from the back pay, whichever is less.  Once I have been paid from the back pay, I do not charge anything more.  Also, if a client does not win then I do not charge.

Just to illustrate, if a client gets $10,000 in back benefits I would charge 25% ($2500).  If a client gets $100,000 in back benefits I would charge $6,000 dollars.  If we do not win, I do not charge and consultations are always free whether we take the case or not.