Who is the Best Social Security Disability Lawyer in Dallas?

It’s just human nature. When we select a doctor for an operation, we want “the best”.  And when we need a social security disability lawyer in order to get social security disability benefits, we want “the best”.

Several years ago a lady called me about social security disability representation. I routinely ask callers how they got my name. This lady reported she did a search on Google for the “best disability lawyer in Dallas”. My name “came up first”, so she reasoned, “you must be the best disability lawyer in Dallas”. She did not say this with a laugh or any indication her response was “tongue in cheek”.

I like to think that I am one of the best disability lawyers in Dallas, but I shuddered as I considered my caller’s logic. My Google ranking at the top of the search page for the term “best disability lawyer” was for her proof positive that I was the best.

But Google has no ability to make such a judgment. High ranking on Google simply means that Google’s complex algorithms have determined that the page best fits the “search intent” of the keyword phrase provided by the searcher.

If you don’t believe Google has no business making this important decision for you, do a search for “who is the best lawyer” on Google. Top ranking is a list of the world’s richest lawyers. Apparently Google thinks “rich” and “best” are synonymous.

“Who is the Best Disability Attorney Near Me” – Find the Answer!

So how do you find the best social security disability lawyer? First of all, I don’t have confidence that there is in fact a “best” disability lawyer. Perhaps a better question to ask is this:

Who is the disability lawyer that best fits my goals and my needs?

Finding the “best disability lawyer” depends upon what you really mean by the “best”. For most, “best disability lawyer” means “who is most likely to win my case?” But there are many other factors to finding the right disability lawyer match for you.

Making big decisions is difficult, and it may be doubly so for someone seeking social security disability benefits. Most individuals are not accustomed to hiring a lawyer, and disabled folks are often frustrated and have limited coping skills due to their medical condition.

The real problem – and perhaps the main reason my caller let Google make her disability lawyer decision for her – is that people have no real ways to determine who is the best disability lawyer.

In an attempt to focus a new client inquiry, I often ask a caller: “what questions can I answer for you”? Often times the caller will say, “well I don’t know what questions to ask”.  This is, I think, an expression of frustration in the fact that they simply don’t know how to go about deciding who is the “best disability lawyer”.

Google Reviews: What do Former Client Say?

Google reviews reflect how happy former clients are, and are a good factor to consider. While you certainly should be alarmed if a prospective lawyer has lots of bad reviews, it is also true that you should be a bit skeptical if a lawyer has no bad reviews. Social security disability lawyers must handle a lot of cases to stay in business, and often deal with difficult people. It is unrealistic to expect any disability lawyer to have no unhappy former clients. Bad reviews can provide valuable information about the lawyer, but often times on their face reveal a difficult or chronically disgruntled personality that even the “best disability lawyer” could not please.

Experience

Just as you don’t want your back surgeon to be learning how to do surgery on you, you are less likely to find the “best disability lawyer” amoung lawyers who are inexperienced in social security disability law. Because social security disability lawyers are paid only if they win, it is impossible to have many years of social security disability practice experience and not know how to handle a disability case.

Specialization

Handling only social security disability case is a further indicator of high competence in securing social security disability benefits for clients. It be less likely you will find the “best disability lawyer” among personal injury lawyer who have added social security disability to supplement their practice.

Interview Your Prospective “Best Disability Lawyer”

Selecting a social security disability lawyer involves fighting through discomfort. In my opinion, that decision making has to start with a frank and open conversation with the lawyer you expect to handle your disability case.

Yet callers often seem rushed, many apologizing that “I will try not take much of your time”.  This is the wrong mental frame of mind. You are the one in control. You are determining who will be handling one of the most important matters of your life. You are interviewing the lawyer for the job of “best disability lawyer”.

Even though you may feel “you don’t know what to ask”, you do have questions. Perhaps they are questions that you may feel are “stupid”. They are not. There are no stupid questions to ask an experienced social security disability lawyer.

Here are some suggested questions that can get the juices flowing:

1.  What is your general approach to winning a social security disability case?
2. What is your approach to preparing for the administrative law judge hearing?
3. How often can I expect to communicate with you?
4. Do you continue on with my case if we lose at the administrative law judge hearing?
5. What do you think about my working while we are appealing the case?
6. How do you document the opinion of my medical doctor to help win the case?
7. What facts would cause you to decide to drop my case?

You will find as you ask these questions that more come up. Ask them. Refrain from holding your tongue because you think the question may sound “silly”.

Once you have asked all your questions – silly and important alike – you might not necessarily be sure your interviewed lawyer is the “best disability lawyer” for you. But I submit you will have a sense as to the right decision.

In an interview you will pick up a lot more information that just the attorney’s answers to your questions. You will also pick a sense about the lawyer herself. Does she seem interested and concerned about me? Does she seem impatient or annoyed if I go on too long in talking?

Is it easy to let Google decide who your “best disability lawyer” is. After all Google led the caller I mention above to me (I need an emoji here). But taking the trouble to think about what you want, and asking questions of your prospective disability lawyer, is more likely to result in your hiring the “best disability lawyer”.