I have many years of experience helping Alaska claimants win Social Security disability benefits, and I am ready to put my expertise to work for you. I am a board certified specialist in Social Security disability advocacy, certified by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. I also have significant experience handling cases that have been rejected at each appellant level of the Social Security Administration and then are appealed to the federal court system for judicial review. For a list of the appellate cases I have handled, see About me. In addition, I was honored to be one of four recipients of the Pro Bono Leadership Award from the Federal Circuit Bar Association Charitable and Educational Fund on June 25, 2010 for my contributions to pro bono service over a continuing period both within the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals community of appellate practitioners and elsewhere.

If your application has been denied and you want my assistance, please provide a brief description of your claim using the form to the right, and I will respond promptly.

Office location:250 Cushman Street, Suite 3F

Fairbanks, Alaska

907-374-4744

The term “disability” is defined by the Social Security Act as an inability “to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”

More specifically, the Social Security Administration will find that you have a disability only if your impairments are so severe that you cannot do your previous work or, taking into account your age, education and experience, “any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy.” Work “exists in the national economy” if it “exists in significant numbers, either in the region where such individual lives or in several regions of the country.”

Your age, education, and experience count

The concept of vocational adaptability affects the determination of whether you are found to have a disability. Older, less-educated people with little work experience are not as adaptable to job changes as younger, better-educated people with work experience.

For claimants under 50, you generally have to prove that you cannot do an easy sit-down job or even a job where you are allowed to alternate between sitting and standing during the workday.

For claimants 50 through 54, you generally have to prove that you cannot do “light” work, such as standing or walking most of the day and lifting up to 20 pounds. Even though you might still be able to do a sedentary job, you can still be found disabled.

For claimants 55 or older, you generally have to prove that you cannot do “medium” work, such as standing or walking for most of the day, frequently lifting 25 pounds and occasionally lifting up to 50 pounds. But you can be capable of doing light work and still be found disabled.

The Social Security Administration’s disability determination is hypothetical. The real-world issues that concern you do not concern the Social Security Administration. For example, it is irrelevant to the Social Security Administration that:

• You do not want to work in a particular job
• There is no work to be had in your local area
• The economy is in a down-cycle
• You are not able to get work
• Employers would not hire you
• The industry in which you work has undergone technological changes

The Social Security Administration does not ask the question “Are you able to find work?” Rather, in determining your disability status, the Social Security Administration will ask, “Hypothetically speaking, is there a job you are capable of performing?”