What happens when your attorney drops you during an appeal?

[USMCVMO]

Hi,

I have had an appeal waiting for a judge for a couple of years now.   During this wait time my attorney closed his office and sent me an e-mail withdrawing his representation for me. 

Do I need another attorney or just wait and see what happens with the appeal?  

Thank you.

 

[pacmanx1]

1 hour ago, Whodat said:

If your attorney withdrew, I have heard from Hadit family that some have appeared BVA without a lawyer and won. Some say that you do not need an attorney until you reach CAVC. 

You are absolutely correct. Veterans do not need an attorney to represent them at the BVA, but it is best if they have one if they are not familiar with the VA bull sh-t. I just received a contact from my attorney that I will receive a joint remand that the VA attorney just agreed to offer. This remand is for the exact same thing that the BVA just ignored. Believe it or not, I submitted all the evidence the BVA needed to grant my appeal, but they still ignored it, but the joint remand will cover all my corrected benefits.

Veterans needs to know that if their evidence is solid, they may still have to file an appeal to the courts to get their benefits. IMHO (IN MY HUMBLE OPINION) there was no reason for the BVA to deny my appeal other than the fact that they had the authority to deny, and they did, so I had to get a lawyer to get my benefits warranted. Hey, when appeals go to the CAVC, there is normally no fee because of the EAJA.

4 hours ago, USMCVMO said:

I have had an appeal waiting for a judge for a couple of years now.   During this wait time my attorney closed his office and sent me an e-mail withdrawing his representation for me. 

Do I need another attorney or just wait and see what happens with the appeal?  

I may not be the smartest person to fight the VA, but I feel I have a good enough grasp on their regulations to know what I should be granted, this will be my second time winning an EED going back to 1998. Just be prepared to file an appeal to the CAVC if you disagree with the BVA decision. You should have something like 120 days after the BVA Decision.  Your new representative will have to sign a new POA and get familiar with your case, if you feel that you need more time in getting a representative you can contact the BVA an inform them that your representative withdrew his services, and you need more time in getting one. You will have to send the BVA a fax letter. 

Board of Veterans’ Appeals
P.O. Box 27063
Washington, DC 20038
FAX: 1-844-678-8979 (Toll Free)

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by pacmanx1

[Rattler]

This is a direct number to the Board of Veterans Appeals. I would call them and ask what the status of your case is.  800-923-8387. He may have never filed your claim.  Depending on where your case is at if he left you without help I would file a complaint with you state Bar against him. I have had attorney's do that to me before. A Bar complaint snaps them back to reality. If it's somthing else I would follow Whodat or pacmanx1 advice above.

[pacmanx1]

50 minutes ago, Rattler767 said:

This is a direct number to the Board of Veterans Appeals. I would call them and ask what the status of your case is.  800-923-8387. He may have never filed your claim.  Depending on where your case is at if he left you without help I would file a complaint with you state Bar against him. I have had attorney's do that to me before. A Bar complaint snaps them back to reality.

Unfortunately, 1 (800) 923-8387 no longer exist and can be connected to the BVA. This number will automatically roll over to the call center 1 (800) 827-1000 number. There is no direct line/phone number to the BVA, all veterans must submit a fax document to get to the BVA. This roll over happened a few years ago about 2019-2020.

[Rattler]

Have you called 1 (800) 923-8387? I did before I posted it. If you call it during the week it gets answered by people claiming to be the BVA. On the weekend it goes to a "we are closed call back when we are open." It might rollover to (800) 827-1000 but the people who answer the phone seem to be trained to answer BVA questions.  I also have a direct number to one of the clerks in the BVA. I do not give it out because of respect for him.

[Mr cue]

I would call 1 800 an see if the lawyer send them the withdraw.

I would upload the letter stating he with draw. The VA will try an pay him out your retro.

You can ask the 1800 if you are waiting on a hearing or bva decision.

If it a hearing an you feel you need a lawyer get one.

If they say a decision I wouldn't look for one if they denied you will get a free lawyer at the cavc .

I just can't see give a lawyer 20% of back to sit an wait on a decision.

This my opinion on the issue 

[pacmanx1]

Like most things with the VA, the veteran will most likely have to send in a singed document with attachment of proof. A written statement from the former POA and a new POA will be needed, if the veteran chooses to get a new representative.