Herbert S. Forsmith

I have been practicing Social Security disability law for over 30 years. I was privileged to serve as a Social Security administrative law judge for 20 years, hearing and deciding thousands of disability cases of every type.

Since leaving the bench in 1998, I have devoted my practice almost entirely to the representation of applicants for Connecticut and New York Social Security disability and other Social Security benefits, including Supplemental Security Income, before the Social Security Administration and the United States courts.

I represent Connecticut,  metropolitan New York  and Hudson Valley disability claimants at all stages—whether at application, first appeal, second appeal, or hearing level. A substantial portion of my practice consists of cases referred by attorneys, including many federal court appeals cases.

I have developed and taught bar association Social Security continuing legal education classes and a seminar for Legal Aid attorneys on Social Security practices and procedures.

I am a sustaining member of the National Organization of Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), and a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. I am admitted to the New York State Bar and the United States Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.

With over 30 years of experience, I can help you through the Social Security disability process. If I decide that there is a reasonable basis for your claim, I will walk you through all of the required paperwork, your testimony and other procedures, making certain that your impairments and limitations as you experience them are truthfully and most  effectively presented. I will also develop the necessary medical data and opinion, and provide  the best supported and most persuasive arguments through the administrative law judge level and, if necessary, to the Social Security Appeals Council.

I know what a shock it is to find that a trauma or disease has caused even the most ordinary activities to be extremely difficult or impossible. I will always make my best efforts to personalize your case – that is, to so develop and present your claim as to enable the reviewers and adjudicators to realize both the facts and feelings associated with your individual experience of functional loss, and how this experience has related to your vocational incapacity.

I maintain law offices in  Lower Manhattan at 26 Broadway, 17th Floor, New York, New York 10004, and in Putnam County,  at 10 McMahon Place,  Mahopac, New York 10541.  I practice and travel to meet and represent clients located throughout the New York City metropolitan area,, the Hudson Valley,and the State of Connecticut.