How Can I Get a Disability Lawyer for Free?

Hiring a disability lawyer gives someone else the responsibility for shepherding your case through the disability process and makes you more likely to win your claim. But applicants for Social Security disability (or SSI disability) are unlikely to find a disability attorney to represent them for free, even at legal aid offices (more on this below).

Lawyers who help disability claimants work on a contingency basis, meaning that they only get paid for their work when they win a case, and they get paid only a one-time fee out of your back benefits. This makes lawyers less likely to work for free, since you don't have to pay their fees out of your income or savings.

While you may not find a lawyer to represent you for free, Social Security disability attorneys offer free consultations, where you can discuss your case and get some feedback at no cost. And some disability lawyers won't make you pay for any out-of-pocket expenses, such as postage and copying costs, up front.

How Do Disability Lawyer Fees Work?

Disability attorneys don't require you to pay their fees directly. Instead, the Social Security Administration (SSA) pays your legal representative directly out of your back pay award, if you get approved. The lawyer's fee is a maximum of 25% of your retroactive benefits (back pay) or $9,200, whichever is less.

Social Security has to approve all fees paid to disability lawyers, and the fees must be reasonable and reflect how much work the lawyer did on your case. Not all lawyers will request a full 25% of your back pay.

Since applications take at least a few months—and usually much longer—to process, Social Security almost always owes back payments to disability applicants. In the unlikely event that your disability application is approved with no award of back pay, your lawyer won't be entitled to collect a fee without submitting a special fee petition to Social Security and getting it approved. (Learn more about fee agreements and fee petitions.)

We surveyed readers after they were approved for benefits about how much their disability lawyers got paid. For many, the fee was between $3,000 and $4,000 of the backpay owed by Social Security. For details, see our survey statistics with the average fees paid to Social Security disability lawyers.

Can Attorneys Charge for Other Costs?

Attorneys will spend money to win your case, usually on things like copying and postage for gathering your medical records and submitting them to the SSA. Social Security allows attorneys to charge claimants for reasonable costs like these before winning your case, but not for attorneys' fees.

Some attorneys require you to pay these costs to them directly as the case goes forward, but others will wait until the end to send you an invoice. A few attorneys will cover the costs for you if you can't afford them.

Before you hire an attorney or representative for your case, make sure you understand how much you'll be paying for their service and for out-of-pocket costs. Sign a written agreement with them that discusses reasonable costs.

Getting Pro Bono Help From Legal Aid Organizations

Some legal aid offices and nonprofit law firms stopped providing representation for Social Security disability claims after a rule change in 2005. After that year, Social Security was allowed to pay attorneys' fees for SSI cases directly to attorneys (before this rule change, direct payment was allowed only for SSDI cases). What this meant was that SSI claimants started to have an easier time finding lawyers to take their case, so they didn't always need legal aid organizations.

Today, many legal aid offices will represent clients only in Social Security overpayment situations, since it can be difficult to find a lawyer for help in these cases. (For more information, read our article about finding a lawyer for an overpayment problem.)

Some nonprofit law firms, community groups, and legal aid organizations, however, do still help claimants with Social Security disability cases. And many are willing to help you file your initial claim, sometimes for free.

But even legal aid attorneys (and non-attorney advocates who are registered with Social Security) are allowed to collect fees from your back pay to compensate them for the time they spend working on your case. And legal aid organizations often use the fees they earn from winning disability claims to fund other services they provide. So, except in dire situations, legal aid organizations don't normally waive attorneys' fees for helping you win your disability claim.

You may want to contact your local legal aid organization to see if they accept disability cases and what their fee policy is. You can find your local legal aid office in this directory from Legal Services Corporation. If you live near a law school, you could call them to see if they have a disability "clinic" where law students represent disability claimants, although you may not get the same level of representation as you would with an experienced disability lawyer.

Can You Get a Free Lawyer to Represent You at Your Hearing?

Although the hearing process is more informal than a court trial, any attorney you hire to help you would have to:

• review your claim file
• read your medical records
• decide which Social Security disability rules to use to win your case
• write a pre-hearing brief
• prepare for your hearing, and
• attend the hearing.

Those tasks take a lot of time, so even legal aid offices or nonprofit agencies are unlikely to do this work for free. But again, if you hire an attorney, you won't have to pay them if you don't win, since they're only paid if you win your case.

For more information, read our article on why you may want to hire a lawyer for your disability hearing.

What Happens at a Free Consultation With a Disability Lawyer?

Whether you need help with your initial disability application or you want to file an appeal, you can try contacting a disability attorney for a free consultation. The person who answers the phone may ask you some screening questions first, to see if you're a likely candidate for disability benefits. You may have to try a few law firms before you're given a consultation (some attorneys reject all but the strongest disability claims).

The consultation is your chance to discuss the facts of your case with a legal professional who understands the disability process. Free consultations can take place on the phone or in person, and usually last from 30 minutes to an hour.

Here's what to expect during your free consultation with a disability lawyer.

• Overview of the disability process and fees. The representative will explain how the Social Security disability process works, how long it's likely to take, and how the fee agreement is structured.
• New client questionnaire. The representative will ask you a series of questions about your work experience, your medical issues, and the status of your claim to determine if you have a good case.
• Question time. This is your chance to ask the attorney anything you want to know about the disability process, your chances of success, or the representative's own professional background. It's a good idea to write your questions down beforehand.
• Representation decision. If the lawyer wants to take your case, that's great news. But remember that you don't have to hire the first lawyer you speak to. If you need a little more time to make your decision, tell the lawyer you'll call them back.

Finding a Disability Representative

Don't be scared by the hefty up-front fees charged by lawyers in other fields—Social Security attorneys and representatives can only charge you a one-time fee if you win your case. If you don't win, there's little or nothing to pay.

In addition to helping you win your claim, disability lawyers can provide emotional support while you're going through a difficult time. Having someone explain the strengths and weaknesses of your case, how likely it is that you'll get benefits, and how much of a monthly benefit you can expect reduces a lot of the guesswork in filing a disability claim. Having someone who can file your paperwork and talk to the SSA can relieve a lot of stress, which is important when you're dealing with a physical or mental disability.

To take the next step, read our article on finding a legal professional to help you with your disability claim.