Federal and Postal Disability Retirement: The Client’s Interests

The Client’s interests is obviously what is always paramount for an attorney representing an individual in any given case, in any arena of law.  In Federal Disability Retirement law under FERS & CSRS, there is the added urgency in addition to the client — that of the continuing medical disability.  For every attorney, there are always competing interests for the limited time of any attorney — taken up by consultation, proper and careful preparation of the Federal Disability Retirement application itself; preparation for a Merit Systems Protection Board Hearing; and many other issues.  Time is the valuable commodity, and the attorney representing a Federal or Postal worker must take care to focus upon the essential aspects of what will ultimately result in the victory for the client:  an approval of a Federal Disability Retirement claim from the Office of Personnel Management. 

Sometime, read Anton Chekhov’s short story, Grief.  It is about a man whose son has just died.  As with any person with a tale to tell, it must be told.  So it is with any Federal or Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition which impacts one’s ability to perform the essential elements of one’s job.  There is a story to tell.  At the same time, however, the Attorney who represents a person to obtain disability retirement must focus the story itself; to do otherwise ends up failing to serve the client’s best interest — the focus upon what will end in ultimate victory:  an approval from the Office of Personnel Management granting the Client his or her Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: Don't Confuse the Standards

People who call me for advice, who are potential candidates as clients for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, often interchangeably use terms which apply to different standards:  standards of total disability as opposed to a medical disability which impacts one’s ability to perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s job; whether a medical condition is an “accepted” disability (a concept which is often used in Social Security disability cases); whether a person can file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits even though he “hasn’t reached MMI” (“Maximum Medical Improvement”) — which is language encompassing a concept familiar to OWCP/DOL (Worker’s Comp) cases; or, on a different level, the statement that an agency has been “accommodating” an employee by allowing him/her to take sick leave, Leave Without Pay, or to “not have to travel as much” — mistakenly or loosely using the term “accommodation”, when in fact such agency actions do not constitute a legally viable accommodation, as that term is used in Federal Disability Retirement laws. 

It is the job of the attorney to correct, clarify, and otherwise explain the proper terminology and precise application of concepts in Federal Disability Retirement cases.  It is not surprising that people who are contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS use the various terms in error, or mix terms unknowingly — for there is alot of misinformation “out there”; it is the job of an Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement law to clarify such confusions.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The Attorney’s Role

It may sound harsh; it may even sound “mean”; but I often tell my potential clients that I am not their therapist, doctor, or empathy-advisor.  I am their attorney.  When advising people to respond to an Office of Personnel Management denial with some “discretion”, it is often difficult for an individual who is so closely tied with his or her own case, to remain objective and detached.  Yet, detachment is the mark of professionalism, and that is why the old adage is true — that an individual who represents himself in court has a fool for a client. 

My job as an attorney who represents Federal and Postal employees to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS must be guided with a focus of understanding the factual context, the medical conditions, the type of job, the symptomatologies manifested by the medical conditions, and apply the law governing disability retirement issues.  If I become a therapist, it detracts from my focus; if I become an empathy-advisor, I become “attached”, as opposed to de-tached.  That is not to say that I will not listen to the relevant medical background (note the confusing double-negative, which merely means that yes, I will listen, to some extent) — I certainly will.  But only to the extent that will allow me to win the case for my client.  For, that is my job:  to get an approval from the Office of Personnel Management.  If I am successful at that, then my client will have gained all the needed empathy of the world:  a semblence of financial security.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire