Chitwood and Fairbairn

When I left California in 2011, I had already been struggling by myself to get benefits for 2 years. I’d been denied SSDI twice, and had finally gotten a lawyer in Sacramento, but then we had an unexpected move to North Carolina and he wasn’t able to help me anymore :’(. My CA lawyer advised me to make sure the lawyer I worked with was a Board Certified Social Security attorney, and luckily, my research pointed me towards Chitwood&Fairbairn as one of my choices (maybe the only one?) — and thank God it did! Working with them, the process seemed to speed up and I received 100% approval for SSDI by the end of the year. Talk about a HUGE relief!
But unfortunately, my Multiple Sclerosis causes me quite a lot of cognitive problems, which caused problems between the paperwork I provided SS over the years and my taxes (… and lots of other stuff generally TMI for a Unilocal review), and a couple of years later, SS suspended my payments while I repaid them (??!). Obviously, I went back to Chitwood and Fairbairn for help again. Thanks to their swift intervention, my payments and benefits including Medicare resumed (*phew*) pending eventual review by a Judge. The general stress of the situation made my MS symptoms even worse — so the support from Chitwood and Fairbairn keeping all my paperwork straight and generally clearing up communications was invaluable. Mostly, I didn’t have to worry whether all my I’s were dotted and T’s were crossed — because I knew they were because C&F took care of it all for me. It’s like, when I could have sworn I sent in paperwork that SS said they hadn’t received — *I* couldn’t prove it, but my lawyer could. This was NEVER so evident as when I finally had my hearing before the judge, and he didn’t even have the complete evidence of my case — until my lawyer (Ms. Fairbairn herself) was able to show him numerous additional points of evidence (and the fax receipts proving when SS had received them!).
Thank goodness my extremely complicated SSDI issue has finally been resolved, and I don’t owe Social Security a penny more. I hope I never have to go through further Social Security Disability issues… but if I ever do, I know my first call will be to Chitwood and Fairbairn again.
Looong story short: I highly recommend this firm A++

I chose this firm in part because it is a women-​owned company. I brought them a very straightforward SSDI case, which they sat on for more than a year. I’d call every few weeks to check in, which would often jar their memory that they needed an updated report from a doctor or something. Finally, the same day they received notice that my Medicaid hearing had been set, they sent me a letter declaring my case unwinnable and dropped me as a client.
I found another disability attorney in town (see my Broker & Hamrick review; also a women-​owned business) who, thankfully, took on my case in time for the Medicaid hearing, which she won. Several months later, we also prevailed at my final SSDI hearing.
I seriously considered suing Chitwood & Fairbairn for malpractice. Though my life has moved forward, I often wish I had, just to help ensure that no one else falls victim to this firm.