If you win your SSDI claim, your disability lawyer’s fee comes out of your back pay. Not your monthly check, and never out of your pocket up front. Federal law caps that fee at 25% of your back pay or $9,200, whichever is less (the cap rose from $7,200 to $9,200 in November 2024). If you don’t win, you owe us nothing.
The short version
There is no scenario in which you write a Colorado SSDI attorney a check before your case is won. We work on contingency, meaning we get paid only if we recover benefits for you. When we win, the Social Security Administration calculates your back pay (the lump-sum award covering the months between your eligibility date and your approval date), withholds our fee directly out of that back pay, and sends the rest to you. Your monthly ongoing benefits going forward are never reduced. You never receive a bill from us.
The federal fee cap
SSDI attorney fees aren’t a free market. Congress capped them. Under 42 U.S.C. § 406, an attorney representing an SSDI claimant cannot collect a fee greater than:
- 25% of past-due benefits (back pay), OR
- $9,200, whichever is less.
This cap applies whether your case takes six months or three years, whether the attorney spent two hours on it or three hundred. The cap was raised from $7,200 to $9,200 effective November 30, 2024, the first increase in over a decade, and is now reviewed periodically against the SSA cost-of-living adjustment.
A worked example using 2026 numbers
Let’s say you applied for SSDI in January 2024, were denied at initial application and reconsideration, and won at an ALJ hearing in March 2026. Your average monthly benefit amount is $1,800.
Back pay calculation: SSA calculates back pay from your eligibility date (typically 5 months after your established onset date) through your approval date. Say SSA determines you were eligible starting July 2024. That is 21 months of back pay at $1,800/month = $37,800 in back pay.
Attorney fee calculation:
- 25% of $37,800 = $9,450
- Federal cap = $9,200
- Lower of the two = $9,200
SSA withholds $9,200 from your back pay, sends it directly to us, and sends the remaining $28,600 to you. Plus your $1,800/month ongoing benefits going forward, untouched.
What’s included in the fee
The 25% / $9,200 contingency covers everything we do on your case:
- Initial consultation and case evaluation
- Filing the application or appeal at the appropriate stage
- Gathering and reviewing your medical records
- Drafting requests for reconsideration or hearings
- Preparing you for testimony at the ALJ hearing
- Representing you at the hearing itself
- Cross-examining the vocational expert
- Drafting post-hearing briefs if needed
- Appeals Council briefs (if your case is denied at hearing)
- Federal court briefs (if Appeals Council denies and we proceed)
What’s NOT included
Two categories of costs are separate from the attorney fee:
1. Medical records fees. Hospitals and clinics charge for copies of records. These are typically $25–$200 per provider depending on the facility. We advance these costs and request reimbursement from you ONLY if we win. If we lose, you owe nothing for records either.
2. Court filing fees (only if your case goes to federal court). U.S. District Court filing fees are currently $405. Most cases never reach federal court, but if yours does, this fee applies separately.
Why hire an attorney?
Statistically: claimants with attorney representation at ALJ hearings are approved at roughly 2x the rate of unrepresented claimants. The 2025 Denver OHO approval rate was 62.4%, well above the national average, and meaningfully higher for represented claimants.
A back-of-envelope example: if SSDI approval means $1,800/month for the rest of your working life (and dependents’ lives in some cases), one approved claim is worth $200,000+ in lifetime benefits. Against that, a capped fee of $9,200 to meaningfully raise your odds of approval is a trade most families would make every time. The math tends to speak for itself.
How fee approval actually works
You and your attorney sign a written fee agreement before representation begins. We submit this to SSA, who reviews it for compliance with the federal cap. The fee agreement is approved automatically if it meets the standards (which ours always do). At case resolution, SSA withholds the fee from your back pay and pays us directly. You never have to write us a check.
If, in unusual circumstances, an attorney wanted to claim a fee greater than the cap, SSA requires a separate petition with detailed time records. We don’t do that. We work within the cap.
Frequently asked questions
What if I don’t win? Do I still owe you anything?
No. If we don’t recover SSDI benefits for you, you owe us zero attorney’s fees. You may owe a small amount for medical records we advanced (typically under $200 across all providers), but only if we won the case. If we lost, you don’t owe records costs either.
Does the fee come out of my monthly check?
No. The fee comes out of your back pay only, the lump sum covering past-due benefits. Your monthly check going forward is never reduced by attorney fees.
What if my back pay is small?
Then your attorney fee is smaller too. The fee is always the lower of 25% of back pay or $9,200. If your back pay is $4,000, the fee is $1,000.
Do you charge for the initial consultation?
No. The first 30-minute consultation is free, with no obligation. We use it to assess whether your case has a path forward, and if it doesn’t, we’ll tell you that honestly.
Are there hidden costs I should know about?
No hidden costs. The only out-of-pocket costs you might encounter are (1) medical records fees, which we advance and only ask you to reimburse if we win, and (2) federal court filing fees if your case proceeds to U.S. District Court (typically $405). The contingency fee covers everything else.
What if I’ve already paid another lawyer or representative?
If you switched representation mid-case, the previous attorney may have a fee claim against your back pay. SSA handles this allocation. In most cases, the total combined fees still cannot exceed the federal cap.
Ready to talk about your case?
The first conversation is free. We’ll review where you stand and tell you honestly whether your case has a path forward. Call (720) 515-9012, schedule online, or send a message.