Vent: my cousin said skip the lawyer and file alone, then his hearing in Fresno got pushed 14 months
He kept telling me a lawyer just takes 25 percent for nothing, but he showed up to his appeals hearing alone and the judge asked him three questions about his medical records he could not answer, so I drove to Oakland the next week and signed with an attorney who actually read my file first, and now I want to know if anyone here tried the do it yourself route and still won.
Your cousin saying a lawyer "just takes 25 percent for nothing" is what got him in trouble, honestly. My rep knew which of my records actually mattered and walked me through what the judge would ask before I ever sat down in that room. Going alone might work for a super clean case, but one missing paper can set you back a year or more while you wait on a new hearing date. Your cousin basically paid that same 25 percent in lost time instead of money.