Reviews

Ben was the attorney at my disability hearing. He was always helpful before, during and after we went to court. Ben is very informed and experienced with disability law and I highly recommend him to everyone.

Did not get to CHOOSE atty once went with the DAVID W. PARKER firm. Thought, by YouTube video that Mr. Parker did, he WAS the atty. Stunned to be "assigned" his cohort, Mr. Johnston, who has been with Mr. Parker just four years. Ben has had my SSDI case for nearly five years and apparently hadn't bothered to review the facts until a month prior to my SSDI hearing. At NO time during all these years have I been able to contact HIM directly; in fact, his paralegal Alicia Tachio handled AND advised me on EVERY aspect of my case until two weeks before my hearing. Suddenly, Ben was in the picture and not at all pleased to learn Alicia had been advising / guiding me throughout the process. This had scared me early on during the paperwork completion phase, especially, because much of my factual detail got rewritten and reinterpreted by his paralegal, translating to misinformation and nonfactual detail which she then submitted to SSA. During my hearing's "dress rehearsal" two days prior to my actual hearing, Mr. Johnston -- Ben -- chose to use the judge's questions from his most recent case, assuring me that if I could answer and expound on these specific items, we'd win. The day of my hearing, about twenty minutes prior to being called in, Ben was a mess. He was disorganized, scattered and chose to inform me that "I don't even know what to tell the judge about you" (his direct quote to me). I was absolutely stunned. Any confidence I had from two days prior drained from me. WHY decide such a thing now? And, worse, as he felt that way, WHY dump such horrific news on his client going into a hearing? I lost ALL confidence in him and my case, and went in KNOWING the hearing was pointless, no thanks to Ben. To make matters worse, the judge, whose questions Ben had assured me she would ask during our "dress rehearsal" two days earlier, asked NONE of those questions. In fact, the judge was ONLY interested in set time frames, e.g., how long I could perform specific actions / processes four and a half years earlier versus two years earlier. I am not a person who excels at impromptu thought / speech. I have to be prepared, to think things through so I can speak intelligently and in an organized manner. Ben instructed me to alternate standing / sitting all throughout the hearing as the judge would base her decision MORE on how I looked rather than anything I said. This seemed incongruent with the purpose of a "hearing", but I tried to comply; however, he was very disappointed that I would not fling my legs over the side of the chair's arms, something I explained I would only consider in the privacy of my own home. However, during the hearing when I stood against the wall, I appalled to be cussed at commanded by my attorney to "SIT DOWN!" I had much I wanted to tell the judge but having been forewarned by Mr. Johnston to avoid offering any detail, I declined her invitation to speak. When we exited the courtroom, I was again stunned as Ben got up in my face, too close for comfort, and yelled at me, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???" Calmly, I asked, evenly, "About what?" Between feeling completely unprepared and blindsided by my assigned attorney, Ben Johnston, before, during and after my hearing, the stress, noncompliance, insincerity, and incongruent service and interest in ME, MY case and his OWN performance is dismal. Therefore, I would NOT recommend Mr. Johnston.