Attorney charging $5000 flat fee for filing appeal

Attorney “Luke Ross” from National Security Law form is charging $5000 flat fee for filing my appeal for Public Trust Sf85P T4 high security denial. Is it worth it how difficult is it if I file it on my own.

Do you know how to file an appeal on your own? Do you know how to fix the filing if you make a mistake? Do you know how to represent yourself in any related hearings the judge might order?

If your livelihood depends on this, I would not take those kinds of chances. Even lawyers hire lawyers to represent them in their own cases.

I don’t know about clearance appeals costs, but in general, $5000 is not a lot for an appeal. Your career is probably worth a heck of a lot more than $5k.

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I think it’s probably depends on why you were denied. If you have a losing case, it’s probably not worth it.

Agreed. Read through a lot of the appeals rulings and ask yourself what you think your chances of winning are based on your situation, the progress you have made, and be honest with yourself before deciding.

$5000 is a flat fee includes filing an appeal and court hearing if needed.

Dang it’s 5000 now? Yeesh. Well I would say it depends on how complicated your case is. If it’s something relatively straightforward like finances, and you’ve made improvements towards them then I would not pay 5k.

If your issue is a little more tricky, it could be worth it. but be sure to do your research on the lawyer and ask ALL the questions. Some lawyers are trash and will do the minimum. Good luck!

I hired a lawyer for mine and they didn’t do anything i couldn’t do myself.
In fact, the response by to SOR was so weak that i had to fix it.

I would say there are only maybe a handful l of attorneys that are known by the agencies and are successful in appeals. Those cost a lot.

Attorneys are expensive, but they can be worth it. The first thing my attorney did was file for all files that were used to deny my security clearance. My attorney was able to discover that someone had made false statements about my conduct that I could prove to be false. I found this to be helpful because I would not have even been able or even think to look for something like that.

If you do not hire an attorney, the odds are against you. Clearancejobs made a good post about the percentages of applicants who successfully appealed their clearance denials. About 33% of the applicants that did not use an attorney had their clearance reinstated. 51% of the applicants that used an attorney had their clearance reinstated. This number is a few years old, but it remains the same that when you use a lawyer to help your case, your chances substantially improve.

This is a free blog to post on, use it. If you share some details on your case, others on this blog could give you a better assessment to see if it is even worth the appeal given the details of your case

Just want to point out that an attorney is not needed to get copies of your investigation. On the DCSA website you can request copies of your investigations and adjudication.

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For comparison, top end lawyers in big cities are charging $1200/hour for doing attorney stuff.

I stand by what I said. If your career in the cleared space is on the line, I would not cheap out. Even if you don’t think you have a good case.

Have you asked for a consult? They will usually do that for a small fee of like $300.

Talked to an Attorney to file an appeal about my SF85P T4 Public Trust denial. Its a Suitability denial not a clearance denial . I put laid off on the form for an Employer whereas I was fired due to performance issues. There was some misunderstanding and I was able to collect unemployment benefits and the company didn’t contest or deny my unemployment claim. The denial agency is Dept of Commerce. Lawyer charged $5500 that includes filing and communications but he was a nice person and told me I can do it by myself and he can help if I make another appointment with him… Each 1 hour appointment cost $500 probably will take 3 or 4 meetings. There is a 50/50 chance of winning. There is no court hearing option in my case. Any advice should I hire him or file on my own with his help. I am 56 years old and this probably is my last clearance try. I hold multiple Secret clearance’s in the past. I really like my job salary wise.

@Amberbunny2 @Marko @sbusquirrel @EdFarmerIII @clearedrob please help

He sees you as “billable hours” only. If you mischaracterized the terms of departure…hard to overcome rhat as you falsified a government document. If the management involved writes a statement agreeing with you…might win.

If it was a suitability denial you’re wasting your time, breath, and money. The success rate of a suitability denial is very low. You definitely don’t have a valid argument to fight the denial. The way they see it: you lied on the form by putting laid off and not fired. The firing is an issue, the lie is another issue. You lied in real life and filed a fraudulent application for public assistance by getting unemployment. This shows dishonesty, fraud, and criminal activity. Filing a dishonest unemployment claim is unemployment insurance fraud (illegal) and penalties can include: Criminal prosecution with fines and/or incarceration; Required repayment of fraudulently collected benefits; Forfeiting future income tax refunds; and Permanent loss of eligibility for unemployment compensation.

Let’s be careful here… I know of some cases where people were terminated for whatever reason other than lack of work yet the company characterized it as a “layoff” possibly to avoid legal hassles. I know one guy who got fired for violating internet usage (no not porn at work just a little too much surfing the web) and he still got a severance package.

Do you have any documentation from the employer saying you were being laid off? Was there any severance? The key to challenging suitability (as I understand it) is proving factual errors. There’s no mitigating circumstances, no “have pity on me and I promise not to do it again.”

@sbusquirrel I work in IT and according to company I had some performance issues and the company gave me a warning on Nov 1 2022 to finish a certain task or I may get fired on Nov 15 2022. I finish the task and nothing happened for next 2 months and I work as usual. Then on Jan 6 2023 they let me go with a Separation letter with statement like
“This letter will confirm your separation from employment with XYZ. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give me a call at XXX. Thank you for all your hard
work here at XYZ and we wish you best of luck in the future.”
I thought its a lay off and apply for unemployment benefits and the company never contest or deny my claim so I got the benefits. My lawyer is suggesting Instead of contesting their verdict tell them you made a mistake but it was not my intent to lie. I was confused with terms like Separation, laid off and termination According to my lawyer Laid off due to lack of work is same as terminated or fired most people don’t know. He is also an employment lawyer. He is asking me to get character certificates from my coworkers to help my case. what should I do. his fee is $5500 but he is suggesting I can file appeal by myself. Also do I have to be sponsored or employed by a company during the whole appeal process

Regardless of whether the “Notice of Proposed Action” (NOPA) was issued by OPM or the employing agency, if you anticipate an unfavorable decision by the reviewing authority and intend to appeal the decision to the Merit System Protection Board, $5,000 for the written answer to the NOPA and representation at the MSPB hearing is a good price. If the NOPA is for a single “C” level issue, $5,000 isn’t great price, but it’s not a bad one either, provided the work will be done by an attorney who understands 5CFR731 and not a paralegal.

Mine is 5CFR 731.202 in my case there is no hearing option the agency is Dept of Commerce- suitability denial

If you are an applicant for or an employee in a federal competitive service position, you have a right under 5CFR731.50 to appeal your case to the MSPB. The appeal at the MSPB includes a hearing. See 5CFR1201.24.

I am not an applicant for or an employee in a federal competitive service position, but a contractor working for my employer for Dept of Commerce. My lawyer said the agency denied my suitability under 5CFR 731.202 after granting me interim Clearance.