What do you do when the attorney you hired did not file your appeal on time and did not notify you until the last minute. He says that he sent a letter out but I never got it. Now I have to reapply all over again.
–Barbara
Jonathan Ginsberg responds: Barbara, at the very least it would appear that there was a lack of communication between you and your lawyer. As you know, Social Security gives you only sixty days to file an appeal after the date on your denial notice. You have also learned from this experience that lawyers do not have to go through any formal process to withdraw from representation. Unlike state or federal court, where a lawyer has to file a motion to withdraw, a Social Security lawyer need only send you a letter and send the Social Security Administration a letter and his representation is over.
In your situation you might want to file the appeal anyway and ask that it be accepted for "good cause." Include a letter with your appeal stating that there was a communication mix-up with your lawyer and request that your late filed claim be accepted. At the same time go ahead and start a new application.
For others reading this, take heed that you should ask your lawyer to send you a copy of any appeals filed so that you will know what is going on. Further, keep track of your appeal deadlines. If you don’t have a copy of a filed appeal in hand as you approach the appeal deadline, and you can’t get hold of your lawyer or someone in his office, go ahead and file your own appeal paperwork – if you lawyer is not communicating with you he will have to straighten out any duplicate filings.