Erik Berger opened his firm on Atlantic Boulevard in June. His specialty is Social Security disability.
HOW MANY ARE IN THE PRACTICE?
Two. Berger and his office manager.
WHY DO TAXPAYERS NEED A SOCIAL SECURITY LAWYER?
“The government has made it very difficult for individuals to get benefits, so they need legal assistance.”
HAVE YOU ALWAYS WORKED IN THIS FIELD?
“I did a little bit of personal injury, representing injured railroad workers at Easom and Peirce until we started doing Social Security in 1999.”
WHO IS YOUR MARKET?
“I assist individuals who are unable to perform any work on a regular and continuous basis. With our practice, you don’t have much contact with other attorneys. There’s no opposing counsel. In a hearing there is just the claimant, the attorney and the administrative law judge who makes the decision. It is supposed to be non-adversarial with the judge acting as a fact finder.”
DO YOU GET ANY PHONY CLAIMS?
“I would say that most are legitimate. Most of my clients are blue collar workers who, as a result of an accident or injury, are unable to perform the work they did in the past and need some sort of assistance. In any area of law, there are some people that don’t want to work and think that the government should give them benefits. But 99 percent of my practice, maybe even higher, are legitimately injured, either mentally or physically.”
WHY HANG OUT YOUR
OWN SHINGLE?
“I had to; Easom and Peirce dissolved. They decided to close up shop. But it was a good time for me because I had enough of a case load to go on my own. I was eventually going to do it within two or three years. The firm in Pittsburgh was great in helping me make the transition. Plus, it’s nice to be your own boss.”
HOW BIG IS YOUR CASE LOAD?
“Since I’ve opened, I’ve had 80 of my cases. But I’m still doing work on the cases we had at Easom Peirce, and that number is probably around 700. Now, a lot of the work on those cases that were Easom Peirce cases are being done in the Pittsburgh office and I just handle the hearings.”
WHY NOT ENLIST PARTNERS?
“In the Social Security practice, it’s more tailored to a sole practitioner rather than a larger firm, mostly because the fees are pretty minimal in these cases. There are probably 12 to 15 attorneys in Jacksonville that are solely devoted to Social Security disability law. Some do workers comp and Social Security disability because they go hand-in-hand. It’s not a high revenue practice but it has intangible rewards.”
WHAT’S MOST REWARDING
ABOUT IT?
“What I like is having the ability to help people that are unable to work, to receive some benefit, so at least they’ve have a roof over their heads and some food on the table. When a father of three who used to work construction calls and says he received his favorable decision from the judge and now he can make the mortgage payment and take care of his kids, that’s most rewarding. Same thing for single mothers with the same problem. She’s able to take care of her children without relying upon public assistance.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING
FOR YOU?
“The hardest part is that the process, from the time the person applies, to when they actually have a hearing in front of a judge, usually takes three years. Being able to deal with the constant phone calls and reassuring them that the case will eventually be decided and helping them with the small things like answering foreclosure notices — that and the lack of quality health care for the indigent. In the greater Jacksonville area, there is a real shortage of care for people that are not working and can’t afford medical insurance. That is the most frustrating part. There are people who are legitimately ill but because they either can’t get into Shands or they don’t have health insurance, they don’t get proper treatment. It’s difficult to prove their case when they are unable to work if they don’t have any medical evidence. It’s a Catch 22. You have to have treatment to show that you can’t work but if you’re not working, you don’t have insurance and can’t get treated.”
HOW COULD SOMEONE GET BY BEING UNEMPLOYED FOR SO LONG?
“I’m amazed at how they survive. Most of it is borrowing from friends or relatives and going into huge debt.”
WHAT’S YOUR BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY?
“To give as much personal attention to my clients as necessary.”
HOMETOWN
Pittsburgh.
HOW DID YOU GET HERE?
“I started my legal career with Peirce and Associates in Pittsburgh. I moved down here to help set up a satellite office, Easom and Peirce in 1997. I wanted to run away from the cold.”
EDUCATION
Duquesne University Law School.
WHY MAJOR IN LAW?
“I wanted to become an attorney since my first visit to a courthouse with my sixth grade field trip. Nothing else caught my interest after that.”
— by Monica Chamness