Social Security and Disability Insurance Lawyers
in Bloomington, IL Serving all of Central Illinois

At the law office of Williams & Swee Ltd., we take pride in providing prompt, effective, quality representation and legal services to our clients.

Dirk A. May is an experienced attorney who is here to help you with your legal problems.

Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income

Thank you for visiting the website of Williams & Swee, Ltd. Williams & Swee is a law firm that represents Social Security Disability claimants and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claimants. We represent individuals at all levels in the Social Security Disability/SSI process. We can help you with initial applications, function reports and all appeals including Request for Reconsideration, Request for Hearing and appeals to the Appeals Council.

The Social Security Process

The Social Security process starts at the initial level. At the initial level the Claimant files an application for Social Security benefits. After the forms are completed, a telephone or in person interview usually takes place with the Social Security Administration.
One of the next steps is filing an Adult Function Report or a Function Report — Adult. These are very critical. It is very important that you have an experienced Social Security attorney look over these documents before you send them in to the Social Security Administration.
Although they seem like just another form that the government wants you to fill out, they are very crucial in your case. The Social Security Administration makes their decisions in part on what is stated on these documents. It is absolutely essential that you have an individual review these documents before you send them in.
We would be happy to look over the documents prior to sending them in. If you are denied then the next step is reconsideration. The Request for Reconsideration is the first appeal.
Claimants have 65 days from the date of the denial to file their appeal. The appeal consists of medical releases, a request for reconsideration and a disability statement.
It is absolutely essential that you file your request for reconsideration within the appropriate time. We would be happy to help you with your request for reconsideration.
Next, if you are denied on reconsideration then you file a request for hearing. The Request for Hearing also must be filed within 65 days of the date of the Social Security denial. Failure to file the claim within that time period could be detrimental to your claim and cause delays.
Again a request for hearing form is completed along with a disabilities report and medical releases. Finally there is a hearing. The hearing is held in front of an Administration Law Judge. This is a special type of judge that only hears Social Security claims. They do not hear bankruptcy, divorce or criminal matters. All they hear is Social Security claims.
At the Social Security hearing the judge normally answers a series of questions. As experienced Social Security lawyers, we can normally identify the questions that the judge is going to ask during the hearing. Prior to your hearing, you will meet with us to go over your hearing testimony.

In addition to your testimony, the judge will listen to any evidence that you want to present. Typically, the attorney will prepare the Claimant to testify. Also, additional witnesses may be called as well. We will identify and prepare your witnesses for your Social Security hearing.

At the Social Security hearing often a vocational expert is there to testify as well. It is the role of the vocational expert to tell the judge what jobs there are for individuals with certain limitations. The Claimant does have the right to cross-examine the vocational expert. We will handle the cross-examination of that expert.
In addition to the above the judge will also review the medical records and any medical source statements provided by the doctors.