A great attorney

[Christie]

I just want to put this info out there..a great attorney if you need one..Woods and Woods The Veterans Lawyers  (866)232-5777 . They only charge  20%. They are based out of Indiana, but cover all 50 states as a VA lawyer does not need to be in the state that you live in. I recommended them, well, because after 21 years of fighting, I am finally 100% unemployable. (was 80). If you have been fighting like I have...and well, the years are flying by to no avail...CALL THEM!!!!!!

[broncovet]

Woods and Woods has a good reputation as do Attig-Steele, CCK law, Bergman and Moore, Hill and Ponton, and others.  But the best of the Best is probably Carpenter Chartered.  

Ken Carpenter seems to be willing to go "where other attorney's wont".  

In other words if you have a slam dunk, no new law needed, then you may not need Carpenter Chartered.  However, if you dont like the way the VA interprets regulations, then Carpenter may be your man.  

Example:

    Appeals are to be processed "expiditiously".  VARO defines expiditiously as meaning "when we get around to it, if we do, otherwise we just ignore it".  

[Foxhound6]

Good topic. I recently picked up Harry Binder with The Rep for Vets out of Florida. So far, it has been a good experience. Was a small SNAFU with my social # on my intake papers but the person handling that paperwork on their side immediately overnighted the new, corrected intake packet back to me.

While they don't seem to have the greatest communications (the Rep will communicate via your POC within the firm, sometimes the "next steps" get lost in translation between Rep and the POC telling me what he said. So, I sometimes just have to observe the progress on VA.gov and extrapolate what my Rep is doing. Other than that, it has been fairly fast.

I am waiting on an HLR that Rep for Vets decided to do, an example of something they kinda failed to tell me would happen before they send in the nexus and other evidence they asked me to obtain for them (assume to confirm any contentions by the VA or to eliminate possibility of VA error). I'll update once there is an outcome, but I am optimistic.

Rep for Vets will also take 20% of retro pay IF they win the case for you, so sounds similar to Woods and Woods and others.

[El Train]

Woods & Woods recommended a collaboration with C&K for my particular case.  This involves retro pay to early 90's.  

[john999]

If you are going to BVA or Court of Vet Appeals you need a legal eagle.  When you are first getting your claim together I think that the vet can do a better job on his/her own. You can shape your claim beyond just legal facts and figures.  The main thing IMO is to have doctors that know what a vet needs to win a claim.  The doc must put 2 and 2 together and come up with rational opinion that ties your current disability to your service. I had a pretty good lawyer when I was doing my CUE, but we lost because regs allows the VA to pull rabbits out of their hat that would astound most regular lawyers.  The VA runs a kangaroo court.

[broncovet]

Dont forget EAJA!  "If" you have a board denial you are appealing to the CAVC, then many/most attorney's who think you "have an issue of merit", will do the work for EAJA fees alone.  This means you wont have to pay the attorney fees, they will be paid by EAJA if you win.  If you lose, you dont have to pay them either.  

Caution:  You must appeal an adverse BOARD decision quickly.  You can not wait a year like a VARO decision.  I think you must appeal a bva decision within 120 days, but dont wait that long!  Start looking for an attorney immediatly when you get a BVA denial.  

[jhonson]

The fees will be paid only in the case if you win? As I know, many people get in this kind of situation and when they hear the judge verdict, they just give up without proving their side under the pressure of the company where they are working. For people who didn't know, you can always ask for help on workers compensation attorney, this is an agency who is qualified in solving this question and help people to get the compensations which they deserve.

Edited January 24, 2022 by jhonson (see edit history)

[GBArmy]

jhonson Welcome to Hadit. The usual arraingment for MOST legal representation is 20%. I believe that is the normal going rate; however, it can go up to 32% of the award (back pay.) In addition, you have extra costs if they send you for medical opinion to their own preferred docs for an IME or IMO. But it is all spelled out in the contract they send you. Also, don't be too discouraged if you get turned down and the law firm won't take the case. It could be for many reasons; excessive work load, don't specialize in that particular type claim, best lawyer to handle is not available, etc.Just try several. Another thing; if the firm does take your case, you can be sure that they believe you do have a case. They wouldn't take it if they didn't and waste their time and effort.

[Rivet62]

1 minute ago, GBArmy said:

The usual arraingment for MOST legal representation is 20%. I believe that is the normal going rate; however, it can go up to 32% of the award (back pay.) In addition, you have extra costs if they send you for medical opinion to their own preferred docs for an IME or IMO. But it is all spelled out in the contract they send you.

Looking through my VA correspondence, the VA has to approve fees in excess of the 20% and there approval is based on the complexity of the case (actual costs). Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[Rivet62]

On 6/19/2020 at 6:16 AM, broncovet said:

Example:

    Appeals are to be processed "expiditiously".  VARO defines expiditiously as meaning "when we get around to it, if we do, otherwise we just ignore it".  

LMAO

[Rivet62]

On 8/18/2020 at 12:04 PM, Foxhound6 said:

While they don't seem to have the greatest communications (the Rep will communicate via your POC within the firm, sometimes the "next steps" get lost in translation between Rep and the POC telling me what he said. So, I sometimes just have to observe the progress on VA.gov and extrapolate what my Rep is doing. Other than that, it has been fairly fast.

I think that's standard fare. My attorney's POC has the added (and rather undisclosed) job duty of playing gate keeper. She filters out what information she thinks my attorney should know, and that would be ok if she had VA claims experience but she's fantastic in SSA claims. So now I send things via email, saying "XXX (attorney) is expecting this," or "XXX wants this for the increases we discussed." I use some kind of statement in my email to her that puts her in the hot seat if things are not forwarded.

[Berta]

I think some attorneys who help vets are triaged out of help because of "gatekeepers"-

If they ( a vet attorney)have a area on their web site where you can tell them of the issue you have, your contact info might be handled by a non attorney, or para legal without, much of a clue on many disability issues.

Ken Carpenter,as I recall, never uses email (and probably has no staff to handle his phone calls).

Long long ago I filed a Mandamus Petition. I got 12 letters or calls  of response from lawyers. They could not tell yet what the COVA* filing was for but when they found out

it was a mandamus petition -they were not interested - Ken Carpenter however called me, with the same response but we discussed for about an hour, other issues that ,pre- internet as we know it today, were helpful to me as a vet advocate.

I sent my RO a copy of the Mandamus Petition too and it seemed to get thumbs out of butts. Because that issue was then resolved rather quickly.I think it was a posthumous accrued award for 100% P& T, up from 30%because the RO refused to read my probative evidence...and they quickly became literate.

On that issue. But then they tried to ignore my evidence on the other issue (these were the 2 claims my husband had pending when he died.)

The second issue was resolved very fast however when I contacted the VA General Counsel, who ordered them to award the DIC under 1151 and pay me.

I already explained here how that happened. 

If a vet lawyer turns you down, try another vet lawyer.

Stick with the ones mentioned in this thread- they have a proven track record that shows they know what they are doing.

And if you contact an accreditted agent who does not take your case,

(the VA OGC has had numerous complaints against accreditted agents)- dont give up-get a real vet lawyerto help you-there are more good ones too,I am sure, not mentioned here.

For some odd reason the BVA a few years ago, stopped putting POA lawyers names on their decisions.And they also stopped putting the name of the VARO the appeal was caused by.

It meant if I found a similar situation at hadit, and the lawyerhad succeeded in getting an award for the claimant, at the BVA , I could reccommend that lawyer with a link to the BVA decision, to the claimant  here.

 

They recentlychanged the BVA web site as well-which I griped to VA about, but I noticed now the ALL decisions button is now working.

Still, to me it means that we are losing our rights , to affectively help veterans.

and God help those widows/widowers of vets  out there who might have no PC ability at all and would have to depend on a vet rep or VSO who does not understand DIC, and/or accrued.

When I brought my IMO to my former Vet reps they acted like they had never seen an IMO or IME before. 

Their local boss asked me to help 3 of his clients.

One of them, with what I saw as an excellent asbestos claim, needed a strong IMO/IME. The boss of this outfit told me they never recommend IMO/IMEs. That confirmed to me that they were all incompetent.

One of the vets  h sked me to help got an IME from his privte doctor for free nd won his claim.

Thethird vet had a personality disorder the boss wanted me to get changed to PTSD. After  I interviewed this vet fo over an hour I realized he had no PTSD stressor at all, no way to perform a miracle on that, but in his SMRs I saw a possible nexus to this veteran's heart disease, due to something the vet explained to me ,that had happened in service,  and told the boss, who never followed that up with the veteran because he didn't understand the potential nexus.

I asked th vet rep  who attended my double DRO review ,in my behalf, to get the IMO into the record. He said he did but I still wonder about that when I saw the denial letter and evidence list-BUT in any event that claim which he said could only be handled by the CAVC, and would be denied, was awarded by the BVA.

Be careful who represents you-best to depend on the Big Six but

and read the BVA's annual report to Congress coming soon I hope- because it breaks down the awards, remands and denials by Vet Org and other representation, and you can tell who seems to be the best POAs you can get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* COVA is now the CAVC.I had to call them up when I needed a COVA decision, that NVLSP cited in the VBM, and had to promise to pay them some money for a copy of the decision, and they would send it to me via snail mail.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by Berta
added more. (see edit history)

[Mr cue]

I have two problem with the lawyer thing at the cavc.

Most ask you to sign the form put them on your case before you even speak to the lawyer about the case.

Like other stated the legal department will talk to you and they make decisions on if anyone will talk to you about your case. 

Which mean they will only argue the things they feel will get a remand an might not address everything in your case.

The remand gets them pay by the court.

The lawyers at the bva level are charging 25 33% now of retro.

So veterans will be paying lawyer because the va refuse to read a veteran statement or address there evidence or the law.

And the veterans have no commcation with anyone in the va.

To me it set up now for everbody to get a slice of the pie 

Private comp exam. Lawyers been able to charge 25 33%.

Can't get comp exam results

An the veteran has no contact with anyone at va.

It not a vet friendly system anymore

 

 

 

 

[broncovet]

Jhonson

   Yes, typically attorneys who represent Veterans work on a "contingent fee"...no win, no attorney payment.  

 The VA does not mandate attorney fee percentages.  They usually range from 20 to 33 percent.  

    The VA "protects" its Veterans, and mandates the fees are "reasonable".  Pretty much, 20 percent is "reasonable", but anything above that, the attorney needs to document, why he or she deserves a higher percent.  

     This means they submit to the court the hours worked and what they did during those hours.  These judges are experienced and know what the going rates are, and how long it should take to do a task, such as filing a NOA.  

     The fee agreement spells out the agreement between the Veteran and the law firm.  The VA will honor that agreement, but only if they think its reasonable.  Attorneys know this, and often submit their hours, and what they did, when they bill eaja.  

    Yes, EAJA Pays only in the event of a remand or win.  Virtually all the attorneys IM aware of who represent Veterans work on a contingent fee as a percent of the retro.  

    This said, Im not sure there is anything wrong with paying a local attorney xyz dollars to advise you on your claim.  But, if the attorney submits a POA, signed by you, then the VA has some control.  But the VA does not tell you how to spend your money.  If you choose to pay an attorney 100 bucks to tell you if your claim is valid or not, and do not submit a POA, then, well you get to spend your money how you please, so the VA is unlikely to get involved.  

[Berta]

You said:

"Which mean they will only argue the things they feel will get a remand an might not address everything in your case.

The remand gets them pay by the court."

They cant address or challenge everything in the case because the CAVC cannot accept any more evidence to the case.

A remand, however , opens the door for more evidence such as a strong IMO/IME, and remands can certainly garner awards as wel as CAVC decisions.

"The lawyers at the bva level are charging 25 33% now of retro."

Do you have a link to that statement?

I believe they can charge over 20% but would have to collect the differece  from the veteran...

Broncovet is our expert here on legal Fees. He is on line here the same time I am this AM.

 

 

[Berta]

Thank you Broncovet.

As someone said here once or twice, it is better to pay something to get something, then to not pay anything and get nothing.

And dont forget how fortunate we are that VA changed the old regulations:

https://disabilitydenials.com/blog/hiring-attorney-on-va-disability-claim-vs-vso/

This is an excellent article and this caught my eye-

"Third, at the end of the veterans claim, if the 20% seems really high relative to the attorney’s work, the veteran can contest the amount of attorney fees that the VA withholds to pay the attorney."

I personally contested a legal fee that was charged to a local veteran I helped win his claim.

There was a 5 point criteria for legal fees in the regulations,  to be contested and I wrote to the VARO  how this law firm broke each criteria and that I myself had helped the veteran attain what he needed to succeed, with evidence.

The law firm did Nothing for him.

I pointed out that it was apparent to me that these lawyers (2 from the firm)had not even read his BVA decision which held something in the initial statements BVA made, that I honed in on, one word ! and after a lot of research on my part, it was that one word, that led to how I helped him win his claim.

Also his SMRs were very difficult to decifer but I found enough there to present to his private doctor what his IMO/IME neded to opine on.

 

This was one of th last vets I ever helped by phone , email, etc and he was a demanding bully.and even pressured a nurse to agree with his claim at a C & P but of course her actual report denied the claim.

I knew he had a great claim and put up with him and it was miserable. I also knew if he did not get a favorable decision on the fee that VA held back from his retro, he would be calling me up constantly and pressuring me to fix it.

I sent him a copy of the letter I sent to the VA and I never heard from him again.

Actually I never even see this law firm mentioned at all regarding Vet claims on google. That is a good thing.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by Berta
CTS (see edit history)

[blahsaysme2u]

On 6/19/2020 at 7:16 AM, broncovet said:

Woods and Woods has a good reputation as do Attig-Steele, CCK law, Bergman and Moore, Hill and Ponton, and others.  But the best of the Best is probably Carpenter Chartered.  

Ken Carpenter seems to be willing to go "where other attorney's wont".  

all of the above are ones that turned me away. Ken was referred to me by Attig...he was booked up and referred me to sean kendall...

i know vets have had great success with the other lawyers on this list, but all except for Ken and sean turned me away because i am still working and not trying to get tdiu...pretty disappointing and frustrating for a vet that is trying to still do all he can while still dealing with his disabilities...things like this make guys want to give up and just become unemployable just to get help. 

anywho thats my 2 cents

[Mr cue]

Well my thing is has anyone look at the cavc docket search.

You can put in there name and all there cases will pop up.

Some of these lawyer have 25 50 cases they take a month. 

I just don't like it but I will be let the veterans pro Bono program handle one issue to the court.

Just do your homework on the lawyer 

[jameyfalcione]

Thank you for sharing a link to a firm with excellent lawyers in Indiana with us. I've been thinking a lot that I need to sign a contract with a good lawyer. I must know that there's a specialist who will professionally defend my rights in case of a threat. I'm not breaking the law, but a warning letter from the authorities can come to every citizen. The tax service can dig into any entrepreneur with several businesses, you know. Here I read about how to behave if I receive a warning https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fda-warning-letter-response-strategies-1047031/. The FDA letter is the only thing I'm afraid of right now.

Edited April 22, 2022 by jameyfalcione (see edit history)

[Dustoff1970]

Over past 35 or more years (since 1998) I have read many Federal Circuit and U.S. CAVC veterans court appeal decisions favorable to vets who were represented by Kenneth Carpenter and Associates.  His court motions and arguments has pioneered many court decisions very beneficial to future vets filing disability claims and appeals.   

I have used some of his arguments in my successful pro se appellant CUE appeal to the CAVC court beginning in 2001.  He has also represented class action suits and national  veterans organizations. There are many other great veterans attorneys also but IMHO he is the best of the best.

Of course none of them win 100% of the time but the good ones like him win more often than lose.  Remember a court remand of an appeal often results in a win for the vet eventually.

My comment is not legal advice as I am not a lawyer, paralegal or VSO.

Edited April 16, 2022 by Dustoff 11 (see edit history)