We take cases at every stage
Initial applications, reconsideration, hearings before an Administrative Law Judge, and appeals beyond that. You do not have to wait for a denial to talk to us.
About the firm
Three decades of Social Security work
American Disability Law — formerly the Law Offices of Stephanie Lake — was founded in Phoenix in 1992. From the beginning the practice has been limited to a single area of law: Social Security disability benefits.
Why a narrow practice matters
Social Security disability is a federal system with its own rules, its own vocabulary and its own decision-makers. Winning a claim is not a matter of proving that someone is unwell. It is a matter of proving a specific legal standard, using the kinds of evidence the Social Security Administration is required to weigh.
Most applications in Arizona are denied at the first stage. That is normal, and it is not the end of the case — but it does mean that how a claim is built and appealed matters a great deal.
How we work
We build the medical record
The outcome usually turns on medical evidence and what treating sources say about what a claimant can still do. Assembling that record is the core of the work.
Fees come out of benefits
Attorney fees in Social Security cases are set on a contingency basis, must be approved by the Social Security Administration, and are capped. There is no fee unless benefits are awarded.
Where we practice
Social Security is federal law
The rules that decide a disability claim are the same in Phoenix as they are anywhere else in the country. They are federal, set by the Social Security Administration, and they do not change at a state line. That is why a disability attorney is not limited to the state their office happens to sit in.
Our office is in Phoenix and most of our clients are in Arizona. We also represent claimants in California and in other states.
Hearings are mostly remote now. Since 2020 the Social Security Administration has offered telephone and online video hearings, and it made them permanent. The great majority of claimants now choose a remote hearing rather than traveling to a hearing office.
In practice that means where you live matters far less to your case than it used to. What matters is the quality of the medical record put in front of the judge.
Who we represent
In English and Spanish
We represent claimants in Arizona, California and other states, including those whose hearings are held remotely. Stephanie Lake is among the few disability attorneys in the Phoenix area who is fluent in Spanish, and the firm handles claims in both languages.
Conditions we see
Physical and mental impairments alike
Claims we handle regularly involve musculoskeletal and spinal conditions, autoimmune disease, cancer, cardiac and neurological conditions, and mental health conditions including depression, anxiety and PTSD — often in combination.