Norman Michael Murburg Jr

Norman Murburg

After 29 years and 5000 SSDI/SSI cases, $50,000,000.00 in benefits and evaluating over 20,000 claims, lecturing & teaching lawyers nationally how to prosecute SSDI Claims, it's best to be frank. I am not everybody's cup of tea. This young man had some urgency so my staff scheduled him in on my day off. I had just returned from work on my ranch and rather than rudely make him wait as I showered & changed, I met him in our conference room. Though Florida Bar Rules, the Federal Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, before whom I am licensed forbid me from say much, for those under 55 youth makes cases difficult to prove. Entitlement to SSDI/SSI is not simply proof of a disabling condition supported by medical evidence. It requires more. Besides the application of Vocational Grids to a claim, at ages 40, 45, 50, 55, there is a presumption among judges that there are many unskilled jobs exist in the economy one can do seated w/an option to sit & stand and require little training to do, even with disabilities: jobs like surveillance system monitor, ticket seller, a gate guard, parts assembler, produce sorter, just to mention a few. This man was a "Younger Individual" and w/o objective limitations, proof of the case was "difficult", if not impossible w/o Questionnaires completed by his physician. The SSA sends files to their own MDs to evaluate & give opinions that a claimant can work & the claim is denied and stays denied w/o other evidence to the contrary by way of completed RFC Questionnaires that counter the SSA's decision. So we have clients under 55 have these completed before we take a case. With the SSA's Disability Trust fund in danger of bankruptcy in 2016 Congress has pressured judges to reduce rates of favorable decisions. It has had an effect. Judges who pay 50% of the claims that come before them have become a scarce commodity. Because federal law limits the amount of attorney's fees that can be awarded and the high cost of prosecuting SSDI/SSI cases, attorneys' time and resources have to wisely be spent. Cases must be properly initiated to obtain a favorable outcome for a client. Too often I see clients w/ cases taken by lawyers hoping to get lucky only to "dump" both the client and the case before hearing. We do our best to avoid this before opening a file by having clients and their physicians complete these forms. After 29 years, my clients don't need me to be lucky. They need me to be the best attorney for building and trying their case: better than any other attorney that they can hire. Yes, I do have a very laid back dress code sometimes, especially on one of my few my days off. I no longer wear a suit and tie to work unless I am going to be in court and prefer to allow my staff to dress comfortably as well since comfort makes work easier. Yes, clients will see me in ways that they might otherwise expect a "stuffed shirt" attorney to be. I am sorry that this fellow found his early accommodation & my appearance so offensive and found it disrespectful that I did not shake his hand. I meant nothing by it. I am also sorry about the way he feels. I have no control over his feelings. I will say that I do have control over the cases I take and who I am and how to best win my client's cases. If nothing, I am a straight shooter: better a bitter truth than a sweet lie. Life is too short to do otherwise. The reality is that some folks want a guy in a suit who shakes hands. I may not always dress up to TV lawyer standards but we take only the cases we believe we can prove and win. I am not in the business of building false trust or giving fiat hopes to my clients. Additionally, as a health matter, during flu season we don't go out of our way to shake hands with others out of respect for our many clients who have autoimmune diseases and can die from the flu. I am grateful that this person took the time to meet with me and on behalf of my partner and staff, we wish him & his representative only the best of luck.