As lawyers for people living with disabilities, we know that many people have done things in their lives that they regret or would change if they could. If you’re 50-years-old with a host of severe reasons why you cannot work – and your drug and alcohol days were years ago – it may seem strange that your disability lawyer wants to know about it anyhow.
Here are five good reasons to be straightforward, honest, and detailed in what you share with your lawyer:
- These three things do matter because your credibility is key to your case. Drugs, alcohol, or criminal convictions can be a basis for a judge to doubt your credibility.
- Never assume that these activities don’t show up in your Social Security file. They probably do.
- Because you don’t pay us hourly, it doesn’t cost you anything to be detailed with us. And, there’s a good chance we can help if we only know in advance what’s coming.
- Telling us in advance gives us a chance to talk it over fully with you. Maybe there were mitigating circumstances. Maybe it was a long time ago. Maybe you’ve achieved sobriety. Whatever the case, by telling us, we lawyers can present it honestly to your judge, along with a well-reasoned explanation, which is a lot better than it being raised by the judge and being a surprise to us.
- Lawyer-client privilege protects you. We cannot, even if we wanted to, share this information except in certain extreme situations.
Talk to us; that’s why you hired us!