Law firms & agents · brand review

Woods & Woods review: a percentage of back pay, plus case expenses

An accredited firm whose named attorney we found on VA's roster, reviewed against 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 and the one number its own state bar rules stop it publishing.

Sources checked Sep 4, 2026

Operator
Woods & Woods, LLC of Evansville, Indiana. BBB records the business as started 1/1/1987 — 39 years — with Neil Woods as President and Owner.Source: Better Business Bureau — Woods & Woods, LLC profile (Evansville, IN) · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Model
Accredited representation on appeals. You appoint the firm on VA Form 21-22a, then sign a fee agreement; it is paid from past-due benefits only if it wins.Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Advertised price
"a percentage of your back pay plus case expenses, but only if we win your claim." The percentage itself is set in your fee agreement, not published.Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
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.

This is a different kind of review from the rest of this index, because Woods & Woods can do the thing none of the other companies here can: represent you. We searched VA's Office of General Counsel roster for the firm's president and found him — "Woods, Neil Michael · Evansville · IN · 47706 · 812-426-7200", at the firm's own number. That single fact changes the questions worth asking. An accredited attorney's fee is not a private bargain; it is governed by 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 and reviewable by VA.

The firm's own published position on fees is accurate about the framework and silent about its own number: "Our firm charges a percentage of your back pay plus case expenses, but only if we win your claim." Its explainer states the regulation correctly — 20% of past-due benefits presumed reasonable, above 33⅓% presumed unreasonable, and no fee at all for preparing an initial claim — and adds a warning about the model used elsewhere in this index: "Fee models that ask you to pay, for example, 'five times your monthly increase in benefits,' may be a sign of a scammer."

The one number it does not publish, it explains: "legal and ethical standards in our home state of Indiana prevent us from sharing the Woods & Woods success rate." What it publishes instead is an aggregate — more than $2 billion in VA disability back pay recovered since 2016. That is a real figure and it is not a success rate; the section below takes it apart. An accredited VSO will still represent you for $0, and this firm's own page says so.

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 for any individual case is set.
  • We did not contact staff.
  • We did not verify the $2 billion recovery figure against any independent source.
  • We did not review any individual case outcome.
03 · TL;DR

The short version

04 · The company

What Woods & Woods actually is

05 · Fees

What it costs, from the documents

This category prices differently from every other one in this index: the fee is a share of past-due benefits, capped by presumption rather than by a price list, and set in an individual agreement VA can review. The cells below are red where the firm publishes no figure — which is normal here, and is exactly why you ask for the agreement.

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 — the site states the 20%/33⅓% framework but publishes no single figure of its own
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. "Federal law prohibits representatives from entering into a fee agreement for helping with an initial VA claim."Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Case expenses
Charged in addition to the fee; no itemised schedule is publishedSource: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
If you lose
"Otherwise, you never pay us a dime."Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
Worked examples

  • A 24-month retroactive award at $1,500 a month is $36,000 in past-due benefits. At 20% the fee is $7,200 and you keep $28,800; at 33⅓% the fee is $12,000 and you keep $24,000. The difference between the two presumptions on one case is $4,800.

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

  • The firm's own framing of the same arithmetic: "Veterans should be able to keep between 66.66% and 80% of the past-due benefits their accredited attorney helps them win."

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • Case expenses sit on top of that. On the $36,000 example, $1,200 of records retrieval and an independent medical opinion would take a 20% engagement from $7,200 to $8,400 — 23.3% of the award in total.

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • The ongoing monthly benefit is not part of the fee at all. Only past-due benefits are, which is the structural difference between this category and a fee quoted as a multiple of your monthly increase.

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

Case expenses, separate from the fee

  • The firm charges "a percentage of your back pay plus case expenses". Expenses are named as an addition to the fee rather than as part of it, which is the correct structure under VA's rules — but it means the percentage is not the whole cost.

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • No itemised list of chargeable expenses is published anywhere on the pages we read: no schedule for records retrieval, independent medical opinions, expert reports, postage or copying, and no statement of who pays them if the claim is lost.

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • The one thing the firm does commit to is that nothing is owed on a loss: "but only if we win your claim. Otherwise, you never pay us a dime." Read that against the expense question specifically — ask whether "never pay us a dime" covers advanced expenses as well as the fee.

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
07 · Direct pay

Direct payment and VA's fee rules

  • VA's rule is that "Fees which do not exceed 20 percent of any past-due benefits awarded … 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: representation has to continue through the award.

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

  • At the other end, "Fees which exceed 33⅓ percent of any past-due benefits awarded shall be presumed to be unreasonable." Between the two presumptions is a range a firm must justify.

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

  • The firm states both correctly and draws the consequence for you: "Veterans should be able to keep between 66.66% and 80% of the past-due benefits their accredited attorney helps them win."

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • It also states the limit that catches most veterans out: no accredited representative may charge for preparing an initial claim. "Federal law prohibits representatives from entering into a fee agreement for helping with an initial VA claim."

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • And it draws the line against the model used elsewhere in this index: "a VA legal representative should not ask you to send any of your future monthly benefits to them for months or years to pay for their services. Accredited representatives who follow the law will charge a percentage of your back pay."

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
08 · Marketing numbers

The firm's recovery claim

09 · Representation

Scope, remands, and who signs

  • Representation begins with VA Form 21-22a, the appointment of an individual as claimant's representative. "From that point, they may ask you to sign a fee agreement" — the appointment and the fee agreement are two separate documents.

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • Because no fee may be charged for an initial claim, the engagement a firm can be paid for begins after a decision. Ask which stage yours is at before signing anything.

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026

  • The 20% presumption applies where "representation … continued through the date of the decision awarding benefits." If representation ends earlier — you switch firms, or the case is transferred — the presumption's condition is not met, so ask what happens to the fee in that event.

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

  • "Our firm charges a percentage of your back pay plus case expenses, but only if we win your claim" is the whole published statement of scope. It does not say whether a remand, a supplemental claim, or a second appeal is inside the same agreement or a new one.

    Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
10 · Accreditation

Verify the attorney, not the firm

11 · Privacy

Your records: who holds them, for how long

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.

  • Better Business Bureau — ratingA+not a customer scoreBBB's own letter grade. The firm is not a BBB Accredited Business, so the grade is not a paid membership. BBB published no review count or complaint count for this profile on the day we checked.Source: Better Business Bureau — Woods & Woods, LLC profile (Evansville, IN) · Verified Sep 4, 2026
14 · Fit

Who it fits, and who should choose another route

May be a good fit if
  • You have been denied and are appealing. This is the stage at which an accredited attorney can be paid, and the stage where representation is worth the most.
  • Your case turns on something an advocate argues rather than something a document proves — effective dates, TDIU, clear and unmistakable error.
  • You want the person handling your claim to be findable on VA's roster and bound by fee rules VA can review. That is this whole category's advantage.
  • You want a firm that tells you a VSO may be enough, and warns you off multiple-of-your-increase fee models. This one does both in print.
Choose another route if
  • You are filing an initial claim. No accredited representative may charge you for that, and an accredited VSO will do it for $0.
  • You want the fee percentage before you engage. It is set in your agreement, not on the website — so ask for the agreement rather than assuming 20%.
  • You need the expense side pinned down. No itemised schedule is published, and expenses are charged on top of the percentage.
  • You want a published win rate to compare firms on. Indiana's rules stop this firm publishing one, so a like-for-like comparison against a firm in another state is not available.
15 · Comparison

Woods & Woods, an accredited VSO, and VeteranAI

Woods & WoodsAccredited VSO · $0VeteranAI
What it is
A law firm. Accredited attorneys represent veterans on VA disability appeals nationwide under VA Form 21-22a.Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · 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 model
Contingency on past-due benefits plus case expenses, payable only on a win. The percentage is set in your fee agreement.Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 2026
$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 — that is what a contingency on past-due benefits is, and VA presumes up to 20% reasonable.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 your agreement, which we did not read.Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 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. "Woods, Neil Michael · Evansville · IN · 47706 · 812-426-7200" appears on the OGC attorney roster at the firm's own number.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. An independent medical opinion, if one is needed, is a case expense.Source: Woods & Woods — How Much Does a Disability Lawyer Cost? · Verified Sep 4, 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 its principal's accreditation is current on the OGC roster.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? I will check it on the OGC roster.
  2. What percentage of past-due benefits is your fee, and is it written into the agreement before I sign?
  3. If the percentage is above 20%, what is the specific justification — in the agreement, not on the call?
  4. Give me an itemised list of chargeable case expenses. Who pays them if we lose?
  5. Does "you never pay us a dime" cover advanced expenses as well as the fee?
  6. Is my claim an initial claim? If so, why am I being asked to sign a fee agreement at all?
  7. If my case is remanded, or I need a supplemental claim afterwards, is that inside this agreement or a new one?
  8. If I switch representatives before the decision, what fee do you claim and on what basis?
  9. Will VA withhold your fee from my past-due benefits and pay you directly, or will you invoice me?
  10. Have you told me, unprompted, that an accredited VSO would represent me for $0?
17 · Bottom line

Where this leaves you

Woods & Woods is in the one paid category that can stand in your place before VA, and its named principal is on the accreditation roster at the firm's own number — we checked. That, plus a fee governed by 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 and reviewable by VA, is a materially different proposition from anything else in this index, and the firm's own pages are unusually straight about it: they state the fee rules correctly, tell you a VSO may be enough, and warn you off the multiple-of-your-increase model.

The two things to settle in writing are the two the website leaves open: the percentage, which is set per case and never published, and the case expenses, which sit on top of the percentage with no itemised schedule anywhere. On a $36,000 retroactive award the gap between 20% and 33⅓% is $4,800, and expenses widen it further — so this is a document to read, not a number to assume.

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. VeteranAI is a different thing again: software that reads your own file and drafts what you or your representative file. 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. The contingency percentage for any individual case is set there and is not published.
  • No itemised case-expense schedule; none is published.
  • No success rate. Indiana's professional rules prevent the firm from publishing one, which we have taken at face value rather than verified against the rules themselves.
  • We did not verify the $2 billion recovery figure against any independent source.
  • 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 website privacy policy or client-intake documents.
  • We reviewed no individual case outcome and make no claim about the quality of the representation.

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