Top best Social Security Lawyers in Washington | 30 available

My office focuses on Disability Law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Employment Law, Asylum Law, and Special Education Law. All of these areas have one thing in common – helping those who are being discriminated against through no fault of their own. I opened my first law office in 1994 because I believes strongly that one individual can make a difference. Having a disability, and living with that disability every day, gives me a unique insight into issues that affect people with disabilities. I have a deep commitment to providing quality legal services to others with disabilities. Of course, I brings that same commitment to those without disabilities as well.. As a long-standing member of MWELA, I have over 25 years of experience in Employment Discrimination law and have settled or won cases against multiple federal agencies as well as private sector firms. I have worked with clients to have their security clearances restored, keep their jobs, and obtain reasonable accommodations. I have worked with clients to obtain financial remuneration after they had already lost their jobs due to various forms of discrimination.. My own disability allows me to understand the needs of my Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) clients in a way others may not, and I am a passionate advocate for his clients. I have been a member of NOSSCR for many years and regularly participate in their National Day of Advocacy. I am careful to evaluate each case individually, and will give my honest assessment. In today’s political climate Social Security cases are more and more difficult to win, so it is more important than ever to have an experienced attorney on your side.. Special Education holds a special place in my heart. I was the first disabled child to graduate from my own high school before federal and state Special Education laws were enacted, and I attributes this to my mother. I watched my mother literally break down barriers for me, from making sure that a class was moved from the second floor to the first floor so I could attend the class, to fighting for and getting ramps and automatic doors installed, to going toe to toe with both my high school and college administration officials. I literally hear a bell ring every time I win a Social Security Disability case or a Special Education case, and I know my mother is getting her angel wings. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her, and she is the reason I do this type of law. I am the author of the e-book What Every Parent and Lawyer Should Know About Special Education, and a passionate advocate for parents and children with disabilities.. I joined AILA in 2017 with the goal of helping those seeking asylum based on the fear of persecution either now or in the future on the grounds of sexual orientation, government sponsored violence, gang-related violence, and political persecution. I have an active asylum case load working with clients seeking relief from persecution for various grounds.. I have been a CLE instructor and have taught seminars for AARP's Legal Counsel for the Elderly, the Archdiocese Legal Network of DC (Catholic Charities), the DC Bar, and other service organizations. I served as a Guardian ad Litem for abused and neglected children in South Carolina. I was an advocate for the SC Protection & Advocacy System for the Handicapped where I advocated for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities, represented families and children with disabilities in numerous Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings with local school districts in South Carolina, and presented seminars on the rights of disabled children to have a free and appropriate education.. I worked at the University of South Caroline Center for Developmental Disabilities, and the US Department of Labor. I graduated from the College of Charleston and earned my JD at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Greetings and thanks for taking the time to learn more about JLA Law Firm and me personally.  I am a over ten (10) year practitioner of the law and advocate for justice.  The Firms areas of practice includes but is not limited to Social Security and Disability, Veteran Affairs, and Family Law.  In addition to practicing law in its traditional since the firm has a governement relations arm that too has over 10 years supporting clients business development needs and providing services that support the monitoring and influencing of public policies that help meet business objectives and goals.. My personal previous experiences include; being a commissioned officer for the United States Army Military Police Corp, stationed at Ft. McClellan, Alabama.  Upon coming off of active duty I worked as a commercial lending officer for Bank of America, formerly NationsBank in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  I also interned for Congresswomen Lynn Woolsey (D-6th-CA) and later served as the Clerk of the Committee on Public Works and the Environment for Councilmember Harry L. Thomas, Sr. (D-Ward 5 –DC).. I am Chairman of the University of the District Columbia Board of Trustees and member of the board for the DC Economic Partnership, DC Business Improvement District, the Arc of DC, Hannah House and Capital Breast Cancer Center and etc.  I also serve as a corporate representative to committees of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the DC Chamber of Commerce, Washington Government Relations Group and three organizations political action committees.. I graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a minor in Public Administration.  I holds a law degree from the University of the District of Columbia- David Clark School of Law . I am a member of  the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court Bar.

Get the best!  I represent people in federal court ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY, after their disability benefits have been denied.. I started my legal career working for voting rights in Mississippi in the 1960s, while I was in college.  There I came to understand the tragedy of poverty in America as well as discrimination against the poor and the disabled.  I also have close family members with serious disabilities.  Since leaving law school in 1978, my career has been devoted to ensuring that the poor, the disabled, and the disadvantaged are protected by the law and receive the help that they need.. After 20 years as a disability judge, helping people in more than 8,000 cases, I understand that the Social Security Administration wants fewer disabled people to receive benefits.  I know, first hand, that the agency pressures judges to pay fewer cases.  That is unlawful, and that is unfair.  I have seen it with my own eyes.  I represent disabled people who have been unjustly denied.. Before I was a judge, I was a trial lawyer, and I never lost a federal appeal.  In 20 years as a disability judge, I had only 5 decisions overturned by a federal court.  I cannot represent disabled people before the agency, but if the Appeals Council at the Social Security Administration rejects your intra-agency appeal, I can use all of that expertise to help you -- in federal court, where my success rate is about 66%.. I graduated in the top 10 percent of my law school class and was on the law review.  The U.S. House of Representatives published two of my monographs.  I worked for North Mississippi Rural Legal Services, as liaision with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, and provided active voter registration assistance to racial minorities in Mississippi, including testimony in federal court of unlawful gerrymandering and intimidation. I chaired the Sex Discrimination Committee of the Women's Legal Defense Fund and negotiated a major settlement with the United States Justice Department.  I represented consumers in multi-million dollar natural gas rate litigation, was with one of the top 50 law firms in the United States for eight years, and won a $1.2 billion dollar natural gas rate settlement for consumers.  I also chaired the Ethics Committee of the Federal Energy Bar Association and published in its law journal.  I was one of the first 100 women hired as an administrative law judge by the Social Security Administration, having achieved the highest score ever on the written examination, and was responsible for requiring the Social Security Administration to make their hearing offices handicapped accessible.  I have spoken many times on practice and procedure of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and of the Social Security Administration and remain active in community issues of poverty, disability, and discrimination.