How to Choose a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer

Federal disability retirement lawyers specialize in helping federal employees obtain certain benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). If you're planning to apply for federal disability retirement or appeal after your application was denied, you might not need to hire an attorney to represent you. Some employees successfully navigate the OPM bureaucracy and complete a successful application on their own.

But if you're a Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) employee and you've decided to hire an attorney to help you with your application or appeal, it's important that you get the right representative for your case. This article will list the steps you should take to find a federal disability retirement lawyer who can best represent you.

1. Start Your Search for a Federal Disability Lawyer Early

You don't have much time to make the decision to hire an attorney when OPM denies your claim for federal disability retirement. Start researching attorneys early. And, at the very least, have a list of attorneys that you'll call when you decide you want to hire an attorney.

Many people begin looking for a lawyer online. Try typing "federal disability retirement attorney" into your preferred search engine (like Google or Bing) and see which results come up. Read reviews and contact the offices of any promising attorneys to see if they would be a good fit.

The bar association in your state is likely to maintain a database of licensed attorneys that you can search for by area of practice. You may also want to ask for referrals from friends who work (or used to work) for your federal agency—especially anyone who's succeeded in getting federal disability retirement benefits.

2. Consider Hiring a Licensed Attorney

There are many attorneys and non-attorneys who handle federal disability retirement claims. There's no rule that says the advocate you hire must be an attorney. However, you can't get representation fees reimbursed by the MSPB (Merit Systems Protection Board) if you hire a non-attorney advocate.

There are some advantages to hiring an attorney to represent you in your federal disability retirement application or appeal. Attorneys have special qualifications non-attorney advocates don't have, such as a law school education, a professional license, and ethical rules they must follow.

Non-attorneys don't have these requirements. If a non-attorney advocate messes up your claim, misses a deadline, or causes you to lose entitlement to a benefit through negligence or ignorance, there's not much you can do to hold the advocate accountable. You could sue, but to be successful, you would need to hire an attorney and hope that the advocate you sue has the money to pay a judgment.

You should verify with the state bar that any attorney you're considering is actively licensed and not subject to discipline. Licensed attorneys should be more than happy to tell which state (or states) they're licensed in and how you can confirm that their license is in good standing.

3. Talk to Several Federal Disability Retirement Lawyers

Plan to invest a little time and money in consultations with two to three different federal disability attorneys. Each lawyer's style is different—the way they approach cases and interact with clients will differ.

Take the time to interview all the attorneys you're considering. Then, pick an attorney whose communication style and approach to a case make you comfortable. That way, if your federal disability retirement case gets challenging (or if your application is denied), you'll have confidence in the attorney you've chosen.

4. Confirm Your Attorney's Experience With the MSPB

If your application for federal disability retirement benefits is denied and you need to appeal, having an attorney with experience representing employees before the MSPB is critical. Practically speaking, the MSPB is the last chance you'll have to get your disability retirement granted, so you'll want to make sure your attorney knows MSPB procedures and how a disability retirement appeal differs from other types of appeals to the MSPB.

When it comes to federal disability retirement appeals, the size of the law firm doesn't matter—but the attorney's experience does, so make sure to ask if they've handled disability retirement appeals before the MSPB. Don't be afraid of small firms and sole practitioners. A lawyer who knows how to appeal a federal disability retirement case before the MSPB will be much more valuable to you than an inexperienced attorney with a swanky office, and you don't want to pay a high-profile attorney a lot of money just to lose your claim because the attorney didn't get to know the rules of the MSPB forum.

5. Prepare Before You First Meet With a Potential Attorney

When meeting with a federal disability lawyer, the attorney will need certain information to have a meaningful discussion about your case. The exact information you'll need will depend on the type of action you wish to take. If you're hiring an attorney to help you with your OPM application for federal disability retirement, be prepared with the following:

• a copy of your position description
• your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), and
• any medical records that you have available.

If you're hiring an attorney to help you challenge OPM's denial of your federal disability retirement application, you should provide the attorney with:

• a copy of your disability retirement application
• the OPM letter denying you federal disability retirement
• your request for reconsideration, and
• any response from OPM.

You should be a bit wary if an attorney doesn't ask to see some of this documentation at your first meeting. The lawyer will need to review the information in these documents to estimate how long your case will probably take, how strong it appears to be, and how much the attorney's fees will cost.

6. Know the Types of Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer Attorney's Fees

There are many good attorneys who handle federal disability retirement applications and appeals. But unlike Social Security disability attorneys—who are required to work on contingency—federal disability retirement lawyers all charge different types of fees. You'll find attorneys who use fixed fees, hourly fees, monthly fees, and other fee structures.

Some attorneys charge low fixed fees to help with your federal disability retirement application, but very high hourly rates for an MSPB appeal. Some attorneys charge only for the application and won't represent you before the MSPB. Others only represent applicants appealing to the MSPB.

Make sure you know what you're getting and that the price is fair and that you can live with it, even if you lose. Be candid with the attorney you want to hire—if you can't afford the fees, tell the attorney what you can afford. There might be room to negotiate, so prepare to propose some different fee arrangements that you could afford.

7. Choosing the Right Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer for Your Case

No matter how much you seem to click with a particular attorney, don't make your decision on the spot. Sleep on it. You need to take a little time to make sure you're comfortable with your attorney's experience, reputation, fees, and understanding of your case. That way, even if your application or appeal is denied, you'll feel that you got your "day in court."

For more information about disability retirement for federal employees, check out our related articles on filing an application for federal disability retirement and getting Social Security disability if your FERS/CSRS application was denied.