You were denied and the reasoning is legal, not medical
Effective dates, CUE, and TDIU arguments turn on how the record is read. That is what training buys.
Category 04 · Accredited representation
Law firms and accredited agents: the paid version of representation
This is the only paid category that can actually stand in your place before VA. Accredited attorneys and claims agents file, argue, and appeal as your representative of record — and their fees are governed by VA rules, which is why the numbers here are more predictable than anywhere else on this site. The catch is that the same representation is available free from a VSO, and no fee is allowed on an initial claim at all.
- Represents you?
- Yes — accredited
- Initial claim fee
- Not permitted
- Typical appeal fee
- 20% of past-due
- Presumed unreasonable
- 33⅓% or more
- Free alternative
- Yes — VSO
- Last reviewed
- Sep 3, 2026
Two things to know before a consultation: a VSO provides the same category of representation at no cost, and for an initial claim an accredited attorney or agent generally cannot charge you a fee at all.
Find a free VSOWhat they can do that nobody else can
- Be your representative of record. Appointed via VA Form 21-22a, with access to your file and authority to act.
- Run the appeal. Higher-level review, supplemental claims, and Board appeals, including hearings.
- Litigate. Attorneys can take a case to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims when the Board gets it wrong.
- Argue the hard issues. Effective dates, TDIU, clear and unmistakable error — the arguments where legal training changes the result.
What they still cannot do
- Charge for an initial claim. VA's fee rules do not permit a fee for work before the first decision on a claim.
- Guarantee an outcome. Experience changes the odds of a well-argued case; it does not decide it.
- Supply the medical judgment. A nexus opinion is the signing clinician's, and no firm — or software — decides what it concludes.
- Make your own words unnecessary. Your statement of symptoms is still yours to write, and it still matters.
The fee rules, plainly
What an accredited representative may charge
These are VA's rules, not one firm's policy — which means you can hold every firm to them and check the agreement against the regulation.
| Situation | What the rules say | What to ask for in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Initial claim, before a decision | No fee is permitted for services provided before VA decides the claim. | Confirmation that nothing is owed for pre-decision work, including "administrative" charges. |
| After a decision — appeal work | Fees are allowed and are typically contingent on past-due benefits awarded. | The percentage, what counts as past-due benefits, and whether future monthly payments are touched (they should not be). |
| The 20% mark | A fee of 20% of past-due benefits is presumed reasonable. | Whether the fee is direct-paid by VA from past-due benefits, and what happens if it is not. |
| The 33⅓% mark | A fee of 33⅓% or more is presumed unreasonable. | If quoted above 20%, the specific justification — in the agreement, not on the call. |
| Expenses | Expenses are distinct from fees and are handled separately under the rules. | An itemized list of chargeable expenses — records retrieval, IMOs, experts — and who pays if you lose. |
Source: 38 C.F.R. § 14.636 — Payment of fees for representation · Verified Sep 3, 2026Source: VA — Get help filing your claim (accredited representatives) · Verified Sep 3, 2026
Summarized from the regulation as of the date checked. Individual fee agreements vary and the regulation is the controlling text — read both. Nothing here is legal advice.
The case is heading to the Board or to court
Hearings and CAVC appeals are adversarial in structure. Representation there is a different job than filing.
You have not filed anything yet
No fee is allowed on pre-decision work anyway. Start with a VSO, file, and see what the decision says.
The gap is a document, not an argument
If what you are missing is a statement or a medical opinion, a firm's percentage is an expensive way to get it.
Brands in this category
Firm-by-firm reviews
We publish a firm's page only when every factual line on it has a primary source and a date we checked it. That is why this list is short and why it grows slowly.
Each review reads the fee agreement against 38 C.F.R. § 14.636, separates case expenses from the fee, deconstructs the firm's aggregate recovery claim, and tells you to verify the assigned attorney rather than the firm.
Brand reviewBerry LawA 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.Read the review →Brand reviewChisholm Chisholm & KilpatrickA 27-year firm whose founding partner is on VA's roster and which publishes no recovery total, no win rate and no fee — read against 38 C.F.R. § 14.636.Read the review →Brand reviewHill & PontonBoth named partners are on VA's roster. The firm advertises $400 million recovered and a success percentage, and publishes neither the fee nor the base the percentage is drawn from.Read the review →Brand reviewWoods & WoodsAn 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.Read the review →
More reviews publish as each fact sheet clears review.
Print this. Bring it to the call.
Ten questions to ask before you pay anyone
These apply to us too. If a company will not answer any one of them in writing, that is your answer.
- Are you accredited by VA to represent me? If not, who actually files my claim?Only accredited attorneys, agents, and VSO reps may represent you. Everyone else — including us — is a tool or a service you use while you represent yourself.
- What is the total price in dollars, and what triggers it?Ask for a number, not a range and not a "depends." If the price is not published where you can read it before you talk to a salesperson, ask why.
- Is any part of the fee tied to my back pay or my monthly increase?A fee stated as a multiple of your first monthly increase is still a percentage of your benefits. Do the multiplication before you sign.
- What happens to the fee if my claim is denied?Get the answer in the agreement, not from the person selling it to you.
- Can I cancel? When, how, and what do I get back?Ask what happens to work already delivered, and whether cancelling requires a phone call.
- Who writes the medical opinion, are they licensed, and can they decline to write one?A clinician who cannot say no to writing an opinion is not giving an independent opinion — and VA weighs opinions on their reasoning, not their letterhead.
- What am I signing? Arbitration, assignment of benefits, recurring charges?Read the whole agreement. Ask for a copy to keep before you sign it, not after.
- Where does my C-file go, who reads it, and can I delete it?Your file holds your medical history. Ask about retention, human review, and deletion — and ask it of every vendor, including software.
- Did you tell me, unprompted, that accredited VSOs do this for free?Anyone charging you should be able to explain what you are buying that the free path does not give you.
- Can you promise, in writing, what you will never do — including contacting VA as me?A clear list of limits is a better signal than a long list of promises.
FAQ
About paid representation
Can a VA disability lawyer charge me for an initial claim?
Generally no. Under VA's fee rules an accredited attorney or agent may not charge for services provided before a decision is issued on the claim. If a firm quotes you a fee to file an initial claim, ask them to point at the provision that allows it.
How much do they take?
Usually a percentage of past-due benefits after a favorable decision. VA presumes 20% reasonable and 33⅓% or more unreasonable. Your ongoing monthly compensation should not be part of the fee.
Attorney or accredited claims agent?
Both are accredited by VA, both may represent you, and both charge under the same rules. Attorneys can also take your case to court. Agents are often cheaper in practice and plenty are former VSO reps or VA employees. Check either one against the OGC list.
Do I need one if a VSO is free?
Not for most initial claims. VSOs handle appeals too, at no cost. Paid representation earns its 20% when the argument is legal and the record is contested — and a good firm will tell you when your case is not that.
Read your denial before you hire anyone
Our decision letter tool tells you which element of the claim VA said was missing — the fact you need in any consultation. See what the decision letter analyzer reads.