If your benefits have been denied, you are faced with a choice of lawyers advertising for your business.
Two things are important about your relationship with a lawyer: first is the lawyer’s qualifications and second is what does the lawyer charge for his/her services. It is up to you to know the qualifications you need and then find a lawyer that meets those qualifications. When evaluating a lawyer’s qualifications, consider:
- Length of practice, and
- Scope of practice, including whether the lawyer focuses on ERISA long term and short term claims for benefits.
A lawyer’s experience outside of ERISA claims may not help qualify him/her to handle the complexities of your ERISA claim for benefits – ERISA benefit claims, appeals, and litigation, are significantly different than traditional insurance claims and normal civil litigation.
John Thompson has been in practice since 1997 and has handled numerous ERISA claims, appeals and lawsuits. Guerrini & Thompson, P.C. (known as Bernard A. Guerrini, P.C. prior to 2018) has been dedicated to recovering benefits for ERISA claimants since 2000. Most important, the focus of our practice is ERISA long term and short term disability claims. We do not handle other benefit claims such as Social Security benefit claims, Veteran’s benefit claims, or workers’ compensation benefit claims. We do not handle personal injury claims or business claims. The heart of our business is recovering ERISA disability benefits for our clients.
When you are faced with choosing a lawyer, make sure you know the qualifications you need and want for a lawyer handling your ERISA benefits claim. Then ask as many questions as you need to in order to determine:
- Length of service,
- Areas of practice and for how long,
- Focus on ERISA claims, i.e., what percent of the practice is ERISA, and
- How many claims, appeals and lawsuits have been handled.
People make decisions based on the information available to them. The more information, the easier the decision is to make. Be sure to get all the information you need.