63charlie, sounds like a plan. You probably know this, however, a BVA hearing is always a good thing. I had mine in 2005 at St. Pete. and was able to look my BVA Judge in the eye, state my case and ask questions. This also allowed the inevitable mistakes that are always in the SSOC to be addressed. I don't know if hearings are still done that way but I believe it helped me win my appeal+the lawyer used excerpts from the hearing as evidence that sort of painted the Judge into a corner using her own words.
Good luck on the long haul. Just remember, [and I hope this has not changed either] they had to pay me retro from 1996 when I won the claim in 2009, one year after I finally hired the Lawyer and quite trying to go it alone to save a little bit of money. Anyway, the lawyers don't get the 20% on remands, the Gov. pays for that, and that money somehow is taken off your final award. I did not explain that very well, but the point is; a good part of the Lawyer's fee will be paid by the VA and not out of your pocket when you win.