Legal Disclaimer for Disability Next Steps

The information on Disability Next Steps is general information about Social Security disability programs. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Downard & Associates, PLLC.

Contacting the firm, by phone or through any form, does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not file an application or appeal with Social Security. Representation begins only when the firm agrees to take a case and the client signs the required agreement and forms.

Downard & Associates represents claimants before Social Security nationwide under federal law (42 U.S.C. 406; 20 CFR 404.1705). Federal court cases are referred to a trusted affiliate firm. J. Ray Akers Jr., the firm’s managing attorney, is licensed in Tennessee.

No website can predict how a claim will be decided, and nothing on this site is a promise of any result. Social Security’s rules and forms change; each guide links its sources so the current rule can be checked.

Disability Next Steps is not affiliated with the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any government agency.