You can still register for tomorrow’s CLE!  The Disability Law Section and Oregon State Bar present:

PRACTICING INCLUSION: HOW TO BEST REPRESENT CLIENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Join us while we explore the fascinating and widely-relevant challenges attorneys face when representing clients with cognitive and physical disabilities.

Friday, June 7, 2019, 9 AM – 4:30 PM

Oregon State Bar Center

Join us for a hosted receptions after we adjourn!

CLE credits: 0.5 General, 1 Abuse Reporting, 1.5 Ethics, 1 Mental Health and Substance Use, 2 Access to Justice

Can’t make it to the CLE on June 7th, but still want to connect with those in the disability law community?  Come on over at 4:30!

FACT Oregon and the Disability Law Section invite you to join us on June 7th at 4:30.  Disability culture – how we see disability, has changed over time. FACT Oregon will have staff and board members (several that are also members of the OSB) on hand to network, discuss these changes, while enjoying wine and light refreshments. It will be a great way to start a weekend!

Didn’t realize we were co-hosting a CLE?  Check it out HERE!

Planning to attend our section’s CLE on June 7?  Register by June 3 for a discount!

The Disability Law Section and Oregon State Bar present:

PRACTICING INCLUSION: HOW TO BEST REPRESENT CLIENTS WITH DISABILITIES

With 6 CLE credits offered (including valuable specialty credits), lunch included, and a hosted reception after we adjourn, this promises to be a fun and cost-effective way to learn important and fascinating information about representing clients with cognitive and physical disabilities.

Friday, June 7, 2019, 9 AM – 4:30 PM at the Oregon State Bar Center

CLE credits: 0.5 General, 1 Abuse Reporting, 1.5 Ethics, 1 Mental Health and Substance Use, 2 Access to Justice

The Disability Law Section and Oregon State Bar present:

PRACTICING INCLUSION: HOW TO BEST REPRESENT CLIENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Join us while we explore the fascinating and widely-relevant challenges attorneys face when representing clients with cognitive and physical disabilities.  And earn required specialty MCLE credits!

Friday, June 7, 2019, 9 AM – 4:30 PM

Oregon State Bar Center

Join us for a hosted receptions after we adjourn!

CLE credits: 0.5 General, 1 Abuse Reporting, 1.5 Ethics, 1 Mental Health and Substance Use, 2 Access to Justice

REGISTER BY JUNE 3 FOR A DISCOUNT!

In its budget request to Congress last year, Social Security said it would study whether to expand the use of social media networks in disability determinations, partly to help identify fraud.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/us/politics/social-security-disability-trump-facebook.html?ref=oembed

Click here for an analysis of the recent Supreme Court opinion in Culbertson v. Berryhill holding that the Social Security Act’s fee cap of 25 percent of past-due benefits imposed on attorneys who successfully represent Title II benefit claimants in court proceedings applies only to fees for court representation and not to aggregate fees for both court and agency representation.

Opinion analysis: Social Security cap on attorney’s fees applies separately to successful representation before a court

It’s helpful sometimes to be reminded of things. For example, most of us probably already know that disabled veterans are often eligible for BOTH Social Security disability benefits and VA service-connected disability benefits. We know this, but it’s helpful to be reminded, which brings us to today’s link:

Receiving Social Security Disability at the Same Time as VA Disability (via DC Military Magazine)

Personally, while I KNOW this, articles like this are a helpful reminder for me to make sure my CLIENTS know this. I can’t count the number of times I have spoken to someone about one type of case, only to find out they should also be pursuing a different kind of case. Social Security and VA disability, Long Term Disability and Social Security, Social Security and worker’s compensation, and so on.

(hat tip to Terisa Page Gault for the link)

It’s nearing October 15th, and for some of us (who weren’t quite ready six months ago and filed for an extension), taxes are on the brain. And as we near the end of the calendar year, next year’s taxes are worth thinking about, too.

With that in mind comes today’s article, discussing a positive line item from the new tax law. As you may remember from tax class in law school, not only is income taxable, but forgiven loans count as taxable income, too, in many cases. And some types of student loans can be discharged when the recipient becomes disabled. That forgiveness has been taxable before, but not under the new tax law!

Changes to Student Loan Death and Disability Discharge Tax Rules (via Forbes.com)

(hat tip to Terisa Page for pointing out this article)

Anecdotally, those of us who represent disability claimants know that when they are denied, they rarely just go right back to work. Even if they truly don’t meet the requirements for Social Security disability, the realities of the labor market can be pretty harsh, especially for unemployed people over age 50 with a serious medical condition. The article below discusses this:

Denied Disability Applicants Fare Badly in the Labor Market