Ginsberg Law represents disability clients under a “no fee unless you win” contingency fee contract. Our fee is 25% of past due benefits, with a cap of $7,200. Here’s how this works:
Let’s say that you file your application for disability benefits on September 3, 2021 and you allege that you became disabled on February 15, 2021 (your “onset date”). Your claim will likely be denied, after which we appeal (request for “reconsideration”) and the first appeal will also likely be denied. This appeal/denial process could drag on for 8 to 12 months.
After the reconsideration denial, we would request a hearing and likely appear before a judge 6 to 8 months later. It may take an additional one to three months for the judge to make a decision.
So in our example you might not get a hearing approval until February or March of 2023.
You would be eligible for past due benefits from August, 2021 through March, 2023 – 20 months of past due benefits. If your monthly benefit is $1,800 per month, your lump sum would equal to $36,000. Ginsberg Law would be paid $7,200 and you would be paid $28,800.
Five Month Waiting Period
When you look at this example you may say “what happened to the past due benefits from February 15, 2021 through July 31, 2021?” You do not get paid for this period because Social Security does not pay past due benefits for the first five full months of your approved disability.
February 15-28, 2021 does not count because it is a partial month. March – July, 2021 make up the five full months. So your first past due payment came due in August, 2021.
Why does SSA not pay you for the first 5 full months of your disability? There is no good reason other than SSA’s desire to save months. It is completely arbitrary.
Attorney’s fee Percentage is Often Lower than 25%
You may also notice that the $7,200 fee paid to the law firm is actually 20% and not 25%. This is because SSA caps attorney’s fees at $7,200. So if your past due benefit payment is more than $28,800, your effective attorney fee percentage will be lower than 25%.
Why a Contingency Fee?
Contingency fees (no fee unless you win) benefits both you and your attorney. You benefit by being able to hire a lawyer without having to pay any money up front. Your attorney benefits by making his/her services available to a much wider group of potential clients. In the case of Social Security disability representation very few people would have the funds to pay their lawyer hourly.
Fee Petitions in Unusual Cases
SSA also allows attorneys to request a fee based on hours of work performed rather than a “no look” 25%. Your attorney would need to file a “fee petition” in these cases setting out hours worked. As a practical matter Ginsberg Law and very few lawyers in this area rarely use the fee petition process because SSA puts very little priority on processing fee petitions and they may not act on the fee petition for years and years.
We can’t speak for other disability lawyers, but Ginsberg Law uses the 25% fee agreement process in 99% of our cases.
Finally, you should also know that the Social Security Administration reviews and approves any fee paid to your attorney.