Law firms & agents · brand review

Berry Law review: $500 million recovered, and no published fee

A firm practising since 1965 whose named attorney is on VA's roster, read against 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 and the aggregate figures its site leads with.

Sources checked Sep 4, 2026

Operator
John Stevens Berry, P.C., L.L.O., trading as Berry Law, of Lincoln, Nebraska. BBB records the business as started 1/1/1965 — 61 years — with John S. Berry Jr. as President.Source: Better Business Bureau — Berry Law profile (Lincoln, NE) · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Model
Accredited representation, mainly on appeals: denial of service connection, rating increases, and unemployability.Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Advertised price
Not published — source required
Needs: the firm's own fee agreement, which sets the contingency percentage for your case — no percentage appears anywhere on the site
Payment plan
Not applicable in the ordinary case. A contingency fee capped at 20% of past-due benefits may be withheld by VA from the award and paid directly to the attorney.Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
VA-accredited
YesSource: VA Office of General Counsel — Accreditation search · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Can represent you
YesSource: VA Office of General Counsel — Accreditation search · Verified Sep 4, 2026

Public sources checked Sep 4, 2026. Terms change; check them before you sign anything.

VeteranAI is our product, so this review is not neutral. Every fact on the page links to the document it came from and the date we read it. Judge the sources, not us.

Berry Law can represent you, which is the distinction that matters in this category. We searched VA's Office of General Counsel roster and found "Berry, John S · Lincoln · NE · 68510 · 402-466-8444", matching the firm's BBB-listed city and state. Because the attorney is accredited, the fee is not a private bargain: it is governed by 38 C.F.R. § 14.636, which presumes up to 20% of past-due benefits reasonable and more than 33⅓% unreasonable, and permits no fee at all for preparing an initial claim.

The firm's veterans practice runs on a separate domain from its name, and leads with four aggregates: over 30,000 veterans served, over $500 million in back pay recovered, over 300 years of military service across the team, and "Serving Veterans Since 1965". BBB records the business as 61 years old, which corroborates the last of those. The other three are sums and counts, not rates — the section below says what each can and cannot tell you.

What the site does not publish is a number that would help you decide: no contingency percentage, no case-expense schedule, and no statement of what happens if the claim is lost beyond "We Don't Get Paid Unless We Win". Those cells are red below. An accredited VSO will represent you for $0, and at the initial-claim stage no attorney may charge you at all.

VeteranAI is our product, so this review is not neutral. Every fact on the page links to the document it came from and the date we read it. Judge the sources, not us.

What we did not do
  • We did not retain the firm.
  • We did not read a signed fee agreement, which is where the contingency percentage is set.
  • We did not contact staff.
  • We did not verify the 30,000-veteran or $500 million figures against any independent source.
  • We did not review any individual case outcome.
03 · TL;DR

The short version

04 · The company

What Berry Law actually is

05 · Fees

What it costs, from the documents

Nothing on this firm's site states a fee. That is common in this category — the percentage is set per case in an agreement VA can review — but it means every price cell below names the document you need rather than a number we could read.

ItemAmount, from the company's own documents
Contingency percentage of past-due benefitsNot published — source required
Needs: the firm's own fee agreement, which sets the contingency percentage for your case — no percentage appears anywhere on the site
Presumed reasonable by VA
Up to 20% of past-due benefits, where representation continued through the award decisionSource: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
Presumed unreasonable by VA
More than 33⅓% of past-due benefitsSource: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
Fee for preparing an initial claim
None permitted for an accredited representativeSource: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
Case expensesNot published — source required
Needs: an itemised schedule of chargeable case expenses, and a statement of who pays them if the claim is lost
If you lose
"We Don't Get Paid Unless We Win" — a statement about the fee; the expense position is not publishedSource: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Worked examples
06 · Expenses

Case expenses, separate from the fee

  • The site says nothing about case expenses. It states only "We Don't Get Paid Unless We Win", which is a statement about the fee and not necessarily about expenses advanced on your behalf.

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • Under VA's rules expenses are distinct from fees and are handled separately, so a firm may lawfully charge expenses that a contingency percentage does not cover. Ask which of the two "we don't get paid unless we win" refers to.

    Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026

  • The expenses that actually arise in these cases — records retrieval, independent medical opinions, expert reports — are the ones worth pricing before you sign, because an independent medical opinion alone can run to four figures.

    Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
07 · Direct pay

Direct payment and VA's fee rules

  • "Fees which do not exceed 20 percent of any past-due benefits awarded as defined in paragraph (h)(3) of this section shall be presumed to be reasonable if the agent or attorney provided representation that continued through the date of the decision awarding benefits." The condition is part of the rule.

    Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026

  • "Fees which exceed 33⅓ percent of any past-due benefits awarded shall be presumed to be unreasonable." Between the two presumptions sits a range a firm must justify if it charges there.

    Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026

  • Because the firm publishes no percentage, you cannot know before the consultation which end of that range it works at. That is not unusual in this category, and it is the single most useful question to ask.

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • No accredited representative may charge for preparing an initial claim. If your matter is an initial claim, a fee agreement should not be on the table at all.

    Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
08 · Marketing numbers

The firm's recovery claim

  • "Backpay Recovered — Over $500 Million" across "Over 30,000" veterans served. Dividing one by the other gives roughly $16,700 per veteran served — but the site does not say the two figures cover the same population or the same period, so that arithmetic is indicative at best.

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • Neither figure is a success rate. A total recovered says nothing about how many cases were declined, lost, or withdrawn, and "veterans served" is not the same as "veterans who won".

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • BBB reports: "Serving Veterans Since 1965" is the one headline figure with independent corroboration: BBB records the business as started 1 January 1965.

    Source: Better Business Bureau — Berry Law profile (Lincoln, NE) · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • The number worth asking for is narrower: of clients with a claim like yours, in the last year, how many were granted and what was the median past-due award. A cumulative total since 1965 cannot answer that.

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026
09 · Representation

Scope, remands, and who signs

  • The three entry points the site offers — appeal a denial, increase a rating, unemployability — are all post-decision matters, which is also the only stage at which an accredited attorney may charge a fee.

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • Representation begins with an appointment on VA Form 21-22a and a separate fee agreement. The appointment and the fee are two documents, and only the second one costs you anything.

    Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026

  • The 20% presumption applies where representation "continued through the date of the decision awarding benefits". If representation ends before the decision, the presumption's condition is not met — ask what fee is claimed in that event.

    Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026

  • Nothing on the site says whether a remand, a supplemental claim, or a further appeal falls inside the same engagement or starts a new one. Ask for that in the agreement.

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026
10 · Accreditation

Verify the attorney, not the firm

11 · Privacy

Your records: who holds them, for how long

  • An accredited representative appointed on VA Form 21-22a has access to your VA file as a consequence of the appointment, and the relationship carries attorney-client confidentiality — a protection no unaccredited consultant in this index is under.

    Source: 38 U.S.C. § 5901 — Prohibition against acting as claims agent without recognition · Verified Sep 3, 2026

  • The intake form's consent language is unusually wide: it permits contact "at any time, including but not limited to calls using an auto dialer, text, fax or email", and states that it "overrides any state, federal or corporate do-not-call registry rules or list."

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • The same block does say "Consent is not a condition for services", so the box can be left unchecked. Read it before submitting an enquiry rather than after.

    Source: Berry Law — veterans disability practice site · Verified Sep 4, 2026
12 · Legal record

Public record, dated and graded

None found

We searched the sources below and found no VA warning letter, state action, or court record naming this company. Absence in what we searched is not proof of absence.

Source: VA Office of General Counsel — Accreditation search · Verified Sep 4, 2026
How to read this list

A VA warning letter is a notice, not a court judgment. Class certification means a court let a case proceed as a group; it is not a finding on any allegation. A filed civil suit is one party's allegations and nothing more until a court rules on them. A partial summary judgment is a court's ruling on one question, on facts neither side disputes; it decides that question and leaves the rest of the case, including any remedy, open. A Chapter 11 filing is a reorganization, not proof that a service was unlawful. An agreed judgment is a final court order on terms both sides accepted. A company's win is listed here the same way as a loss.

13 · What veterans say

Review platforms, weighed against each other

Platforms disagree with each other, so they are listed side by side with their sample sizes rather than averaged.

14 · Fit

Who it fits, and who should choose another route

May be a good fit if
  • You have been denied and are appealing — the stage where an attorney may be paid and where representation is worth the most.
  • You want a long-established firm: BBB records the business as operating since 1965.
  • You want the person on your case bound by fee rules VA can review and findable on VA's roster. This firm's named attorney is.
  • Your case is an unemployability or rating-increase argument rather than a documentation gap.
Choose another route if
  • You are filing an initial claim. No accredited representative may charge for that, and an accredited VSO will do it for $0.
  • You want the fee percentage before you engage. It is nowhere on the site, so you will only learn it on the call.
  • You need the expense side pinned down. Nothing published says what expenses are charged or who bears them on a loss.
  • You do not want autodialled calls and texts. Read the consent block on the contact form before submitting it.
15 · Comparison

Berry Law, an accredited VSO, and VeteranAI

Berry LawAccredited VSO · $0VeteranAI
What it is
A law firm practising since 1965, representing veterans nationwide on VA disability appeals.Source: Better Business Bureau — Berry Law profile (Lincoln, NE) · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Accredited representation. A VSO officer files, argues, and appeals for you.Software. Reads your C-file and decision letters and drafts statements you edit and file yourself.
Fee modelNot published — source required
Needs: the firm's own fee agreement, which sets the contingency percentage for your case — no percentage appears anywhere on the site		$0. No fee, no percentage, ever.Published subscription. $25/mo · $250/yr for Pro; Pro is $25/month or $250/year. Max 3× is $49/month or $499/year. Max 5× is $99/month or $999/year.
Tied to your back pay
Yes, by design and by regulation — a contingency on past-due benefits, which VA presumes reasonable up to 20%.Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
No.No. The same price whether the claim is granted or denied.
Cancel
You may revoke a representative's appointment at any time. What that does to a fee already earned is set in the agreement, which we did not read.Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
Revoke the appointment at any time by filing a new VA Form 21-22.In-app, any time. Billing stops at the end of the period you paid for.
Files on your behalf
Yes. An accredited attorney appointed on VA Form 21-22a is your representative of record.Source: VA Office of General Counsel — Accreditation search · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Yes. Your representative of record.No. You file, or your accredited representative does.
VA-accredited
Yes. "Berry, John S · Lincoln · NE · 68510 · 402-466-8444" appears on the OGC attorney roster.Source: VA Office of General Counsel — Accreditation search · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Yes.No. We are not accredited and not your representative; verify at https://www.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp.
Signed medical opinion
No. A law firm argues the claim; a clinician signs an opinion, and that opinion is a case expense.Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026
No. A VSO helps you gather evidence; a clinician signs an opinion.No. We draft a nexus letter from your records and the medical literature for your own clinician to review, edit, and sign.
Regulatory history
None found. The firm is not on The War Horse's list of companies VA's Office of General Counsel wrote to, and the accreditation is current.Source: VA Office of General Counsel — Accreditation search · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Accreditation is granted and can be revoked by VA's Office of General Counsel.No VA warning letters and no state actions on record.

VeteranAI is a different category from the company reviewed here. The column is included so the three options a veteran actually weighs sit on one line, not to suggest we do what they do.

16 · Questions

10 questions to ask before paying

Bring these to the call
  1. Which accredited attorney will handle my case, and what is their accreditation number?
  2. What percentage of past-due benefits is your fee? Put it in the agreement before I sign.
  3. If the percentage is above 20%, what is the specific justification?
  4. Give me an itemised list of chargeable case expenses. Who pays them if we lose?
  5. Does "We don't get paid unless we win" cover advanced expenses as well as the fee?
  6. Is my matter an initial claim? If so, why is a fee agreement being discussed?
  7. If my case is remanded or needs a supplemental claim, is that inside this agreement or a new one?
  8. If I change representatives before the decision, what fee do you claim and on what basis?
  9. Your contact form says consent overrides do-not-call lists. If I decline it, will you still take my case?
  10. Have you told me, unprompted, that an accredited VSO would represent me for $0?
17 · Bottom line

Where this leaves you

Berry Law is in the one paid category that can stand in your place before VA, its named attorney is on the accreditation roster, and BBB corroborates a practice dating to 1965. Those are real advantages over anything unaccredited, and the fee — whatever it turns out to be — is governed by a regulation VA enforces rather than by a contract only you are bound to read.

What the site does not give you is any number to decide on. No percentage, no expense schedule, and a headline of $500 million recovered across 30,000 veterans that is a cumulative total rather than a rate. On a $36,000 retroactive award the difference between the two ends of the permitted range is $4,800, so the fee agreement is the document that matters and the website is not a substitute for it.

An accredited VSO will represent you for $0 and can do everything a firm can at the initial-claim stage, where no attorney may charge you anyway. If you want your own record read before you take it to anyone, ours is a published subscription — Pro is $25/month or $250/year. Max 3× is $49/month or $499/year. Max 5× is $99/month or $999/year. No percentage of back pay, and the same price whether the claim is granted or denied.

18 · Sources

Sources and limitations

Federal regulation and VA
The company's own pages
Better Business Bureau
What we did not review
  • No signed fee agreement, and no contingency percentage published anywhere on the site.
  • No case-expense schedule; none is published.
  • We did not verify the 30,000-veteran or $500 million figures against any independent source, and the site does not say whether they cover the same population or period.
  • No review-platform figures. BBB published no customer review count or complaint count on this profile on the day we checked, and we did not substitute another platform's numbers.
  • We did not review the firm's privacy policy or client-intake documents beyond the consent language on its contact form.
  • We reviewed no individual case outcome and make no claim about the quality of the representation.

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