Attorney Can’t Double Dip for Fees When Representing Social Security Claimants

Attorneys’ fee awards under the Social Security Act and the Equal Access to Justice Act are awarded for the “same work” if they are awarded to an attorney who represented the same claimant in connection with the same claim for past-due benefits, regardless of whether the representation occurred in multiple appeals before federal courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held Nov. 5 (Parrish v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, 9th Cir., 11-35332).

Affirming a district court decision, the court, in an opinion by Judge Sandra S. Ikuta, determined that the attorney here—who represented the ...