Dissatisfaction with attorney, terminate?

[Rivet62]

I honestly don't know where to begin except I know I should end my claims representation, I think.

I am at the point where I can and should terminate my agreement with my attorney, I think. 

• My retro-pay for TDIU could have paid my house off.  Yeah I know nothing's guaranteed, but the chances do increase when the VA form for TDIU is at least submitted. He failed to file the form for TDIU in June 2018, in fact did not file anything at all after I sent him weeks and weeks of compiled documents for the purpose. What a waste of my time.  VA simply was not made aware that I wanted TDIU. Instead, he submits interest in TDIU on our NOD saying "did not consider TDIU".  VA wanted the form. That's why I get crickets all along concerning TDIU. That's why crickets now.
• He didn't submit the correct form for a legacy hearing before the board. I wait my 2 years to get a hearing. Drive several states away (hotel, gas, eating out, yada yada), only to be informed by VA that my hearing was dismissed because the board lacks jurisdiction...docket error, because the attorney attempted to enter AMA improperly. I'm back to the SOC, and the ratings as a result have me at the same combined 80%, only I lost 2% (from the actual 84% to now 82%).
• I get a new letter from VA. This one is for his compensation. VA states in four separate paragraphs, that VA Form 21-22a that he submitted is invalid, according to 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(1); 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(2); and 38 CFR 14.636(h)(4).  And, basically, I'm on my own for paying him the 20% and expenses and fees. VA states that the amount submitted exceeds the 20% and therefore declines it. But because VA Form 21-22a is invalid VA regards my agreement with the attorney to be between me and him. I'm feeling less protection because of it.

So, I called the paralegal and asked her for an expense and fees statement. She said there are no fees or expenses (uh huh... and that's why VA responds by saying it's more than 20%?).  She said there are no fees and expenses. I said I want a statement from start to the present saying nothing is owed. She said she'll type it up and put it in front of the attorney to sign. I'm giving it 7 days. I want that statement.

VA said in the letter I received that the attorney can submit a new contingency fee and expenses agreement together with a new VA Form 21-22a for his compensation. The paralegal said, "oh VA is just being impossible to deal with."  She said that VA is making them do that with every single client they're working with.  ???!!!   Is this a blessing for me or what? Or, is this guy playing a game of getting VA out of the oversight... out of protections I might have with the VA?

So... I need an opinion please. I have not realized any retro-pay.  As far as I can see there is none coming. No ratings increase. I'm back to the SOC level. We are weeks ahead from submitting supplemental claims.  We haven't submitted forms following the SOC yet...  I want to ditch this attorney.  Should I get the zero due statement first? I suspect he'll drag feet.

What a mess. I tried calling 1-800-Peggy... it says the network is overwhelmed due to high call volume.

 

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Rivet62
Removed files (see edit history)

[Mr cue]

To me it sound like he is off your case that why the va is asking for a new fee agreement.

You don't owe him anything because you did receive any retro.

He only get pay if you win.

It sound like it is time to appeal.

I would call or try to see if he appeal the decision.

If not you should put it in.

You should be able to hire a new lawyer now.

 

[Rivet62]

1 minute ago, Mr cue said:

You should be able to hire a new lawyer now.

Thank you. Yes. I need to find out if he has submitted forms, like if he filed VA Form 9.

[Mr cue]

Yes your appeal will not start until they get the form 9.

I Think you got a year from the date of the decision.

I could be wrong I believe it is a year.

Good luck

[pacmanx1]

Check your fee agreement. It should have some type of contingency clause that reads or say that "you don't pay unless you win". At present there is no new VA decision that proves you won your claim. If/once you get a signed letter from your current attorney, you can tell him/her that you choose to seek another attorney assistance.

[blahsaysme2u]

i recommended Sean Kendall in couple posts...in case you are searching for new guy

show you how proactive he is...i submited on my own(sep from the claim he is helping me with) for increase in migraine rating and trying to get SC for my sinus conditions via the new statute for burn pits...he contacted me directly and asked if i wanted him to help me with those too...of course any back pay i get will probably be calculated into his 20% payday too- but no secretary, no paralegal- direct contact with my lawyer...been really awesome working with him

[Rivet62]

5 minutes ago, blahsaysme2u said:

i recommended Sean Kendall in couple posts...in case you are searching for new guy

show you how proactive he is...i submited on my own(sep from the claim he is helping me with) for increase in migraine rating and trying to get SC for my sinus conditions via the new statute for burn pits...he contacted me directly and asked if i wanted him to help me with those too...of course any back pay i get will probably be calculated into his 20% payday too- but no secretary, no paralegal- direct contact with my lawyer...been really awesome working with him

Wow that would be like a dream.  And he seems straight forward with you?  No flim flam?

[blahsaysme2u]

well i dont know what flim flam is...but from day one(last year) he has been great...he does have some clerks that type things up and do research(i have worked with 2 and were very knowledgeable and kept me in the loop on everything.) they also have a website(private from the below website;a secure portal for document uploads) that all emails and documents between us get uploaded to that you can keep track of what has been said and sent in. i have personally talked to Sean i think 4-5x now and always very good conversations. i have talked to his clerks multiple times on the phone and they always get me in direct contact with sean if they cant answer something. 

give him a call and see how you feel about him. his website is here:

https://www.seankendalllaw.net/

[Rivet62]

I could just roll with what they're saying, that they need to write a new fee agreement. I'll cancel his representation in VA.gov, as in waiting for their new fee agreement. 

[blahsaysme2u]

im not giving advice on that....might be best to wait on your signed invoice...thats what i would do anyways...but this is not advice hahaha

[Rivet62]

5 minutes ago, blahsaysme2u said:

im not giving advice on that....might be best to wait on your signed invoice...thats what i would do anyways...but this is not advice hahaha

I know. I want that invoice.

[Marine Corp 69/70]

Rivet62  if you don’t get a letter from your old attorney saying that he will not  go after any money that you win in appeals that he had with you when he was your attorney ( Know other attorney will take your appeals) Period. Good luck

[Rivet62]

UPDATE:  After meeting with a DAV VSO today I have decided to terminate the attorney and switch my representation to a DAV VSO.  If the attorney chooses to charge unreasonable expenses and/or fees then we'll have to settle the amount through my prior state's dispute resolution (as stated in my agreement with him). I'll cross other bridges when I get to it.

[Berta]

If I had your attorney- and he prevented me from TDIU retro-that would have been awarded, if  he had not sat on the form, and if the  the VA  awarded the TDIU , but with an EED of when they got the form, I think I would be pursuing a lawsuit against him in a civil court.***

But, this is the letter I would want to see, if I really felt I had a bsis for legal action.

"I get a new letter from VA. This one is for his compensation. VA states in four separate paragraphs, that VA Form 21-22a that he submitted is invalid, according to 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(1); 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(2); and 38 CFR 14.636(h)(4)."

Maybe the form was invalid becaue he was not qualified to even represent you, per the qualifications in the VA OGC criteria.

That criteria is here:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/14.636

The word "accredited " appears under (b).

*** Maybe that should be  a Federal court- year ago on the older hadit board, I posted a news link whereby a disabled vetern sued his former Vet Rep who had done something similar to this. The veteran won. The vet rep had to pay him the amount his incompetence caused the veteran, regarding TDIU retro.

A NY state volunteer widow's advocate stopped speaking to me a few years ago because she told me how she was handling claims for DIC from widows of vets who had had ten continuous years of 100% SC  P & T .She was making them also prove a direct SC death. Say what?????

Their valid DIC claims should have taken far less time than other type of widows claims, based on the 100% SC P & T for 10 years or more ( or even without the P & T in their lifetime, as death makes 100% P & T anyhow.) Those claims for DIC can be awarded in mere weeks or due to Covid maybe in 2 or 3 months.

Unless these were Nehmer AO  widows, she might have held back their claim or told them not to file the claim until they could prove direct SC death ( and maybe they could not do that- and didnt even need to)-and if they failed ( unless Nehmer AO claim ) to file within one year after death, they lost an EED of DIC back to the date of death of their vet spouse.

That can be a lot of DIC cash! They also could lose ( unless Nehmer widows) their right to any accrued amounts as well.

 

I was stunned and shocked by what she told me and I immediately sent her the regulations she was not applying to those claims-properly- and she never called or emailed me again.

I hope she didnt get sued.

She would call me up and ask me to call or email many widows she was having problems with regarding their claims. But I always told her to send them to hadit.

I found years ago that email and phone calls are too time consuming ,and difficult with widows who are not familiar with VAOLA ,and what helps one widow here can help many more in hyperspace.

Everything I know about survivors claims is here but she would not tell them to come here.

There are vet lawyer wannabees out there  as well as vet rep wannabees who do not have a clue, and we must be very careful who we pick to represent us.

 

 

 

 

[Rivet62]

2 hours ago, Berta said:

But, this is the letter I would want to see, if I really felt I had a bsis for legal action.

"I get a new letter from VA. This one is for his compensation. VA states in four separate paragraphs, that VA Form 21-22a that he submitted is invalid, according to 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(1); 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(2); and 38 CFR 14.636(h)(4)."

It could be that VA is looking out for me, and that's exactly why I would only agree to a Direct-Pay of attorney compensation through VA in the first place because I knew I had protections.  Come to think of it, that may be why my hearing was dismissed... Hmmm. Maybe VA sees flim flam. 

As it turns out, my attorney's paralegal has never heard of the phrase "loose lips sink ships" because she told me that VA is asking them to resubmit new and correct fee agreements with every veteran they are working with. Now why on earth would I want to enter a corrected or new fee agreement when what he wants is a lions share of my back-pay in the years ahead from all current and "downstream claims."?  No.  I think my best move is to consider the whole agreement null and void and request a statement from him of the same. He knows he screwed up big time but I think I can prove willful negligence if he refuses to give me what I want.  I can recover the TDIU by properly submitting an application and arguing the effective date later, but I don't want the expense and time of suing an attorney in a building of fellow attorneys within the same law group. If it were not about the money and the time then I would.

2 hours ago, Berta said:

Their valid DIC claims should have taken far less time than other type of widows claims, based on the 100% SC P & T for 10 years or more ( or even without the P & T in their lifetime, as death makes 100% P & T anyhow.) Those claims for DIC can be awarded in mere weeks or due to Covid maybe in 2 or 3 months.

Yeah I think my attorney's retirement plan is to put enough veterans claims in a slow cooker and just ride it. I am terminating my attorney's services as of the date of VA's letter telling him that his stake is not valid. What you're talking about can literally ruin people's lives for the rest of their lives.

 

2 hours ago, Berta said:

Maybe the form was invalid becaue he was not qualified to even represent you, per the qualifications in the VA OGC criteria.

That criteria is here:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/14.636

The word "accredited " appears under (b).

You would think I would have checked ahead of time, except that I was under so much stress for any help.

I'll check this link out, because it will come into play I'm sure.

Edited January 24, 2022 by Rivet62 (see edit history)

[Rivet62]

2 hours ago, Berta said:

Maybe the form was invalid becaue he was not qualified to even represent you, per the qualifications in the VA OGC criteria.

That criteria is here:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/38/14.636

The word "accredited " appears under (b).

I think you're onto something.  I wish I could see that form he submitted, the VA Form 21-22a. I think there's a VA site for all VA accredited representatives... I just have to find it.

Yeah I'm reading through this link you have here and yeah... VA shut it down under 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(1); 38 CFR Section 14.636(g)(2)!!!  Wow. Good job VA.

AND 38 CFR Section 14.636(h)(4) spells what VA will do if it finds discrepancies, I have a portion of how they are addressing it, by the courtesy copy of the letter VA sent to him.  He was told to file all new fee agreements. And I suspect that VA is holding to a hard and fast rule of requiring those attorney representative appointments (VA Form 21-22a) and fee agreements to be submitted no later than 30 days of our client/attorney agreement in the original jurisdiction... hmm.  VA's letter states so. I don't think he can appeal that, or motion for a review because the 30 days is probably there to curb abuses maybe. But the jurisdiction is maybe...that he submitted to the BVA, after the hearing it was dismissed because BVA lacked jurisdiction. We were supposed to be at the RO and SOC level, not at the AMA BVA hearing level (docket error).  Blessings in disguise.  

But wait... the VA letter is from the RO Director.  What the heck is going on?

Edited January 24, 2022 by Rivet62 (see edit history)

[Rivet62]

2 hours ago, Berta said:

Maybe the form was invalid becaue he was not qualified to even represent you, per the qualifications in the VA OGC criteria.

Can I upload the letter just to you?

[Berta]

No-sorry-I dont use email or phone for VA claims  issues. You can redact his identity , and any personal stuff like your C file #, name, etc, prior to scanning it -I always use an index card over personal stuff I scan and attach here.I never ink anything out. That destroys the hard copy.

You can use this search feature at VAOGC to ee if the attorney is accreditted with the VA.

https://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp

Also they have a list at that link you can download.And we should have a list here, of accreditted attorneys, agents and VSOs etc

I hope this site link  isn't buggered- I searched for a specific  agent I know and nothing popped up-maybe it is the weather 

[Rattler]

That attorney wouldn't be Rhea Boyd & Rhea would it... I sent you an IM Message hear you need to check as you can see from my profile I'm from BAMA too.

[Rivet62]

2 hours ago, Rattler767 said:

That attorney wouldn't be Rhea Boyd & Rhea would it... I sent you an IM Message hear you need to check as you can see from my profile I'm from BAMA too.

Thanks Rattler, but thanks to the VA they're forcing the attorney to resubmit a new VA form 21-21a (appointment of attorney for representation) and they're making him RE-SUBMIT A NEW FEW AGREEMNT, because of 38 CFR 14.636 violations. This effectively makes my contract with him null and void as it is now impossible to fulfill. Wow. Right? And of course, I see no reason to enter a new fee agreement or amend the existing one because he thwarted my TDIU claim. A big no no.