New York Social Security Disability Lawyer Blog

I mentioned in a previous post that the Social Security Administration had announced it was going to issue checks to all adults who were presently receiving Disability payments. Among the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009--commonly referred to as the Stimulus Bill--is a one-time $250 stimulus payment to be made to qualifying Social Security beneficiaries.

In a press release issued on March 26, 2009, the Commissioner of Social Security and Vice President Biden announced that those checks--to Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries who were eligible for Disability benefits in November and December 2008 and January 2009--would be sent out by the Social Security Administration beginning in early May.

The announcement that the money will start going to people presently in 'pay status' with Social Security is terrific news. However, I, together with my colleagues and the members of Congress, continue to be frustrated by the Social Security Administration's backlog of cases.

The U.S. Government has now allocated over $100 million into the Social Security system in order to reduce backlogs in the disability claims process. Yet despite this enormous infusion of cash, the Social Security Administration has not decreased its overall backlog of cases. In fact, while the backlog has decreased in some areas, it has increased in others. This means that for the most part, the people who are waiting for decisions from Social Security continue to wait longer and longer to get decisions at every step in the Administrative process.

The sentiment in Washington, with which I wholeheartedly agree, is this: with an annual budget of $11 Billion and a work force of 63,000 people in 1,300 field offices nationwide, you would think that the Social Security Administration would be able to fix its backlog problem.

Gabriel Hermann

Within the past month, I made presentations about Social Security Disability both to the public and to a local Bar Association. Attendees at both lectures received the same printed materials and heard slightly different oral presentations, tailored for the audience.

For the lawyers, my lecture was focused on what they should look for if clients call with questions about Social Security Disability. At the seminar that was open to the public, where the attendees already knew that they needed Social Security benefits, my presentation was about what they should expect as they go through the process.

The questions I fielded during both presentations were typical. The surprise was in the types of questions I was asked when everything was done. The attendees at the public presentation came up to tell me their stories and get my opinions.

The lawyers were all focused on one thing: the note at the end of my bio that I had appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy! I spent at least ten minutes going through the Jeopardy! selection process and my experience on the show in far more detail than anything I had told them about Social Security Disability!

Hanging in our interview room at our main office is a photo that was taken when I was on the show. At least half the people we meet with ask about it--and that's exactly why it is there. My hope is that something as simple as a bit of personal information like that creates a connection with our clients that goes beyond the typical lawyer-client relationship.

The light bulb over my head just went on! It's time to put something new in our ads: "As Seen on Jeopardy!"

Lew Insler