Blog
Plain answers to the questions Arizona claimants actually ask us, written by the attorneys who handle the cases.
August 23, 2026 · Data
Arizona has three: Phoenix Downtown, Phoenix North and Tucson. How yours gets assigned, what each one approves, and why a claimant in Yuma or Lake Havasu City may never need to make the drive.
August 20, 2026
You have 60 days, and the clock started on the date printed on the notice. The four appeal levels, which hearing office covers your city, why refiling costs you back pay, and the documentation problems that actually decide these claims.
August 20, 2026 · Data
Arizona approves fewer initial claims than almost any state, then approves more than average once a judge is involved. Rates and waits for all three Arizona hearing offices, computed from Social Security’s own published files.
August 16, 2026 · Video · Around the firm
A 1920s movie palace saved from demolition, a legal clinic, and a shelter that helps people get their birth certificates back. The Phoenix organizations Stephanie has supported over the years — and why one of them gets her attention now.
August 16, 2026 · Video
There is no scan that proves fibromyalgia, which is exactly why these cases are won and lost on documentation. What SSR 12-2p actually requires — and the symptom most claimants never think to mention.
August 16, 2026 · Video
You cannot move a case to the front of the queue, and nobody can. What you can do is remove the delays you are causing yourself — and every one of them also makes the case stronger.
August 6, 2026
Arizona denies more initial claims than almost any other state, and the backlog has grown since. Here is where your case actually sits, why each stage takes what it takes, and the short list of things that genuinely move it along.
April 25, 2019
Depression can be the basis of a disability claim, but the evidence Social Security relies on is specific. What helps a claim built on a mental health condition, and what does not.
April 25, 2019 · Updated August 9, 2026
When a parent receives disability benefits, their children may be entitled to payments of their own. Who qualifies, how the family maximum works, and the adult-child rule most families never hear about.
April 25, 2019 · Updated August 8, 2026
There is no general surveillance of claimants — but a photograph never carries the context that makes it make sense. What is actually true, and the precautions worth taking.
April 25, 2019 · Updated August 8, 2026
Update Social Security first, confirm it took effect, then close the old account. Doing it the other way around can delay a payment by weeks.
January 4, 2018 · In the news
Archived press coverage. What a case is worth, which conditions qualify, whether the disability has to be permanent, and how long you must wait before filing — answered for a national press release in January 2018.
Around the firm
Searched for the Law Offices of Stephanie Lake, P.C.? You found us. The firm was renamed in 2019 to reflect the expansion of our legal team — Stephanie Lake is still the principal attorney, and the practice is still Social Security disability only.
