James R Comerford

James R Comerford

4.6
Rating: 7.5

Licensed for 23 years

Social Security & Disability Lawyer at Chicago, IL
Practice Areas: Social Security, Employee Benefits, Military Law

150 N. Michigan Avenue, 28th Floor, Chicago, IL

About James

Biography

Fees and Rates

Cost

Hourly Rates

$ 350-425 per hour

Contingency

25%-33%


Looking for an attorney? Avvo can help.

search module image

Search our directory

Quickly connect with top attorneys through our legal directory to get help with your legal issue.

chat module image

Avvo's live chat agents can help coordinate a consultation with a local attorney.

Chat with a live agent who can match you with the right attorney for your legal needs.

Chat with

Licenses

Licensed in Illinois for 23 years

State: Illinois

Acquired: 2002

Active and Authorized to Practice Law

No misconduct found

Location

Comerford Law Office, LLC

150 N. Michigan Avenue, 28th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60601

Ad

Transform legal challenges into solutions.

Connect now to review your situation.

The Avvo Rating explained

display-bg

The Avvo Rating explained

James R Comerford's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.6 /5.0

11 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (11) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 reviews | Practice Area Knowledge

Posted by Michael | March 31, 2022 | Hired Attorney | Administrative Law

VA IU Case

I had the pleasure of working directly with Mr. Comerford for over a year as we naviagted through a long IU case with the VA. This process is an absolute nightmare, but Mr. Comerford made it a priority to help ease my mind through it all. He never waivered or showed any signs of doubt to ensure I kep...t a level head. I can't express enough how much I appreciated his communication, empathy, and drive through the entire process. I'm incredibly thankful for his support and due diligence. I would recommend him to anyone who is invloved with a VA case or otherwise. You won't find someone more invloved and personal, and at the end of anything I believe that carries more weight than anything else. Having someone who geniunely cares about what happens to you speaks volumes about character. Thank you Mr. Comerford, an infinite amount of times over.

Posted by James | May 14, 2021 | Hired Attorney | Administrative Law

Game Changer

It’s so tough to know what to do when you are broke, injured, and giving up on the system that was supposed to be there as you were for them. After years (since 2005) I have been fighting for a quality of life that the VA wouldn’t provide me. I tried the DMV, VFW, and paying medical doctors out o...f my pocket to keep getting denied. I did the best decision ever and hired a lawyer. I talked to James and a hard covid year later, I’m praising the man who said I had a case to fight for, after the VA kept denying me. I can’t stress enough that this man changed my life, and finally gave me a chance to breathe and succeed. James Comerford is professional, realistic, and straight forward . Thank you from the bottom of my families heart, especially my son who is about to be born.

Posted by Jennifer | June 28, 2019 | Hired Attorney | Social Security Disability

No compassion!

Terrible! Trying to win my disability case after 4 years! He didn't want to research my rare diagnosis. Never let me get any words in, lack of compassion!! Find someone else to handle your case, trust me! So full of himself!

James Comerford

Replied last June 28, 2019

Winning Social Security cases is difficult. In order to prevail, the attorney and client must be on the same page. In this instance, the client wished to pursue a strategy I did not believe would be successful. Rather than adopt a strategy I believed would not succeed, I withdrew as her representative so that she could find another attorney who could represent her in the manner she desired. I wish her the best of luck with her claim.

Posted by Anton/Tony | July 22, 2015

Simply put, a great lawyer there for your needs, and is very understanding about your concerns!

James is an absolutely great lawyer. He fully understands his area of expertise, he's quick to answer any questions with clear, concise directions on how to proceed. His insight into understanding how to navigate with many case laws and government agencies helped me as his client better understand th...e case law and it's ways. James is quick to answer emails and phone calls, and made me feel very comfortable. I highly, highly recommended James for his case law specialties. A professional and true gentleman, even when I would ramble on with worry, James was very understanding and able to put my concerns at ease.

Posted by Chad | January 06, 2010 | Real Estate

Very thorough lawyer

Jim is a good lawyer that helped us through a difficult purchase of our home(he also was the lawyer for the sale of our previous home). We had quite a few issues with the details of the purchase with both the bank and the seller that James made sure were resolved as quickly as possible. When the ...selling lawyer would not respond to phone calls/emails Jim physically went to the lawyer's office and made sure that the final details were pushed through. I would recommend Jim as an attorney as he is very knowledgeable and thorough on the work that he does.

See All Client Reviews

James R Comerford's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse James
Hovanes Margarian headshot
Hovanes Margarian

Unknown lawyer | Nov 03

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Vance Tate Davis headshot
Vance Davis

Social Security & Disability lawyer | Sep 24

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. Mr. Comerford is a highly skilled and knowledgeable attorney as is evident in the many fine contributions he makes to the Avvo community in answering questions relating to Social Security. I highly recommend his services."

Ethan K. Pham headshot
Ethan Pham

Employee benefits lawyer | Aug 30

Relationship: Other

"Mr. Comerford is a dedicated, knowledgeable, experienced attorney who contributes his valuable time to Avvo and has helped many people. He is a valuable asset to the legal community."

John M O'Brien headshot
John O'Brien

Employee benefits lawyer | Aug 25

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"An extremely talented and well respected attorney in the legal community, I wholeheartedly recommend him to anyone looking for a lawyer who knows the law and truly cares about protecting the rights of his clients and getting them the most favorable result possible."

Jennifer M. Danish headshot
Jennifer Danish

Employee benefits lawyer | Jul 06

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I endorse this lawyer."

View All Endorsements
Vance Tate Davis headshot
Vance Davis

Social Security & Disability lawyer

Ethan K. Pham headshot
Ethan Pham

Social Security & Disability lawyer

Jonathan M Feigenbaum headshot
Jonathan Feigenbaum

Employee benefits lawyer

Jennifer M. Danish headshot
Jennifer Danish

Employee benefits lawyer

Mark D. Debofsky headshot
Mark Debofsky

Employee benefits lawyer

David A Bryant headshot
David Bryant

Insurance lawyer

Frederick J. Daley Jr. headshot
Frederick Daley

Social Security & Disability lawyer

Andre Dwayne Anthony Wrighte headshot
Andre Wrighte

Employment and labor lawyer

Experience

Rating:  7.5 (Very Good)

Honors

2001

Dean's List, The John Marshall Law School

2001

Dean's Scholarship, The John Marshall Law School

2001

Dean's Scholarship, The John Marshall Law School

2000

Dean's List, The John Marshall Law School

1999

Dean's List, The John Marshall Law School

1999

Dean's Scholarship, The John Marshall Law School

1997

Clara Abbott Scholarship, Abbott Laboratories

1996

Clara Abbott Scholarship, Abbott Laboratories

1995

Clara Abbott Scholarship, Abbott Laboratories

1994

Clara Abbott Scholarship, Abbott Laboratories

Work Experience

2008 - Present

Member, Comerford Law Office, LLC

2003 - 2007

Associate, Daley, DeBofsky & Bryant

Associations

2013 - Present

National Organization of Veterans' Advocates

Member

2003 - Present

Chicago Bar Association

2003 - Present

American Bar Association

Sample of Legal Cases

Kirby v. Colvin

Remand

Felter v. Colvin

Voluntary Remand

Gaeta v. Colvin

Remand and ultimately favorable decision

Vavalle v. Colvin

Remand

Rose v. Colvin

Case vacated and remanded

See More Legal Cases

Education

2002

John Marshall Law School

LL.M - Master of Laws

N/A

John Marshall Law School, Chicago

JD - Juris Doctor

N/A

University of Florida

BS - Bachelor of Science

Speaking Engagements

2008

John Marshall Law School

Benefits Litigation

Publications

2006

The Journal of the Dupage County Bar Association Social Security and ERISA disability claims

Languages

English

Activity

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution