How to apply for COVID-related disability claims
Partnering with Body Politic to offer information on how to apply for COVID-related disability claims was one of the highlights of my December. Check out the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4WgcYyp0g0&feature=youtu.be
Wishing everyone a happy and HEALTHY 2021.
For more information, contact Cassie Springer Ayeni, President of Springer Ayeni, A Professional Law Corporation
#covid #benefitslaw #coviddisability #springerayeni #ltdbenefits #ERISA #employeebenefits
Read MoreAmerican Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits’ “ERISA Basics” Virtual Conference
Please join me, my program co-chairs, panelists, and participants at the American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits’ “ERISA Basics” Virtual Conference that will take place from December 7-10, 2020! This year covers series of discussions that span Business Law, Health Law, Labor and Employment Law, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, Taxation, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice.
To sign up: https://www.americanbar.org/events-cle/mtg/web/403621552/
Or contact: Cassie Springer Ayeni, President of Springer Ayeni, A Professional Law Corporation @www.benefitslaw.com
#ABA #JCEB #ERISA #Employeedisabilitybenefits #disablity #ERISAlawyer #Superlawyer #Disabilityclaims #Disabilityappeals #Longtermdisability #ERISAlitigator #ERISAbayarea #Disabilitylawyer #Employeebenefitslawyer #ERISAlawfirm #SpringerAyeni #benefitslaw
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Bay Area Women Magazine features Cassie Springer Ayeni
It was an honor to be interviewed for Bay Area Women Magazine. My favorite question was “How do you maintain work/life balance?” Little did I know that my practice would prove so necessary during these unprecedented times: “I figure that everything I need to raise four children and work full-time as an attorney is what everyone at my firm needs too. I offer unlimited PTO, great benefits, four months of fully paid maternity leave, the ability to bring children in to work as needed (in fact I have brought each of my babies into work until they needed another environment), the ability to work from home, and a practical approach to parenting.” Here’s the link to “Her Firm’s Achievements & Results are Measured by the Satisfaction of Her Clients: A Conversation with Attorney Cassie Springer Ayeni.“
Read MoreERISA Counsel and Attorney-Client Privilege: What You Don’t Know About the “Fiduciary Exception” Could Hurt You
Today at 10 am PST, I will be on a panel discussing the topic: ERISA Counsel and Attorney-Client Privilege: What You Don’t Know About the “Fiduciary Exception” Could Hurt You. This webinar is hosted by Strafford. I look forward to the questions and discussion.
For more, see event details: https://www.straffordpub.com/products/tlgjeahgra?utm_campaign=tlgjeahgra
Read MorePersonal Injury Subrogation Claims Under ERISA
“Personal Injury Subrogation Claims Under ERISA,” my latest article in “The Verdict Magazine,” was published today by the Alameda and Contra Costa County Trial Lawyers Association. This article outlines an example of how the 9th Circuit gets ERISA.
For more visit: https://acctla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Fall2019-2-copy.pdf#page=7
Read MoreHer Firm’s Achievements & Results are Measured by the Satisfaction of Her Clients: A Conversation with Attorney Cassie Springer Ayeni
Q: When did you know you would pursue a career in the legal field?
CSA: As early as junior high or high school, I felt the need to advocate for others, to make a point to stand up for the kids who were being bullied or ostracized. I also realized around the same time that I truly enjoyed writing, reasoning, and debating. The law seemed a natural fit: I could use my skills to make a palpable difference in people’s lives. I had settled on a career in law by the time I was 16 and never looked back.
Q: Can you explain what types of cases an ERISA Attorney handles and why you chose this area of law?
CSA: I primarily help people with their employer-sponsored disability benefit claims. ERISA governs all private employer benefit plans, not just pension plans. Many employers provide disability benefit plans in addition to health and pension benefits. In fact, 65% of ERISA litigation is over denied disability benefit claims. The plans are often insured, and clients typically come to me after they stop working, apply for disability benefits to the insurance company, and are denied. I then step in to try to get their disability benefit income restored while they focus on their health.
Q: What is your approach or philosophy to winning or representing a case?
CSA: I lead with kindness. I want to understand truly what my clients have gone through medically, economically, and emotionally to get to this point in their lives, and how I can help. In representing a client, I am there for that person: I am responsive and listen with an open heart. I believe this the secret to winning a case as well – if I am doing my job right, I am painting a picture of the person and the case to help the court appreciate why my client is deserving of their disability benefits. I have the paintbrush and paint ready because I have spent months getting to know my clients and researching the law. And I also aim to be the best-prepared lawyer in the room with the most compelling brief … that helps too.
Q: If we interviewed all your past clients … what is “one” common word that comes up when they describe working with your law firm?
CSA: Compassion
Q: What are some of the most popular topics you are asked to lecture on?
CSA: I speak frequently on ERISA topics, especially in my current role as the co-chair of the ABA’s Employee Benefits Committee. I love presenting to newer attorneys about the fundamentals of ERISA litigation, because I am eager to energize attorneys about how engaging ERISA work is. ERISA is fun! The law is always evolving, providing constant intellectual stimulation, and practicing ERISA law is also a great way to help people in need. I also enjoy speaking to women about re-defining what it means to be a successful litigator, and how to challenge traditional law firm standards to achieve a better work-life balance.
Q: What advice would you give to young women who want to pursue a career as an Attorney?
CSA: Any woman who wants to pursue a career as an attorney should make sure that her potential work environment values diversity and inclusion, fosters a sense of belonging, and creates opportunities for women at every turn. If she is unable to find that environment, she should open her own law firm and create those opportunities herself.
Q: How do you maintain a work/life balance?
CSA: Being the owner of my firm allows me to make up the rules: I look to the best practices of progressive companies and pick policies that I believe are imperative to work/life balance for everyone. I figure that everything I need to raise four children and work full-time as an attorney is what everyone at my firm needs too. I offer unlimited PTO, great benefits, four months of fully paid maternity leave, the ability to bring children in to work as needed (in fact I have brought each of my babies into work until they needed another environment), the ability to work from home, and a practical approach to parenting … like closing the office on Halloween and Valentine’s Day so that we can all attend class parties without rushing to or from work. I, of course, avail myself of each of these policies, which is why I created them in the first place. That’s not to say that I don’t wake up early to work for a bit so that I can focus fully on my kids to take them to school, or grab a few hours on the weekend to pound out a brief, but family always comes first, for me and for everyone who works at Springer Ayeni.
Q: What’s one lesson you’ve learned in your career that you can share with our audience?
CSA: I have always learned to be myself. If you are authentic, you are compelling as an advocate and a counselor: you listen and communicate better when you are not spending energy on worrying about how you should come across. I also believe in the power of preparation. If you are committed to doing your best and preparing your utmost, then even a negative outcome cannot be met with regret, but a positive outcome is much more likely. And if you’re nervous before a court appearance or speaking engagement, just take a breath and realize that even in a worst-case scenario, you will survive and move forward … we all do.
Q: What are some of the challenges you feel women face today?
CSA: Looking at women lawyers only, there is much progress to be made. As Joan Williams at the UC Hastings Center for WorkLife Law has analyzed convincingly, women lawyers (and women in other fields too) are asked to “prove it,” then “prove it again.” In other words, women need to do the job before getting the promotion, whereas men are promoted based on potential. This is a major obstacle to women’s promotion and needs to be addressed systematically.
Five Things About Cassie Springer Ayeni
1. If you could talk to one famous person past or present, who would it be and why?
There are so many! But if I had to pick one it would be Harriet Tubman – her courage and vision even in the face of medical problems were and are awe-inspiring.
2. What’s your favorite holiday? Why?
Valentine’s Day! I don’t view it as just a romantic holiday, but as a day to express to those around you how much you care.
3. If you were a superhero, what would your special powers be?
Time-traveling. That would be magical!
4. What app can’t you live without?
Facebook – it has allowed me to make great connections with other lawyer moms – lawmas!
5. Favorite food to eat?
Strawberries. Now, then, forever, and always.
For More: https://bayareawomenmag.com/news/view/11665/Her_Firms_Achievements_-_Results_are_Measured_by_the_Satisfaction_of_Her_Clients_A_Conversation_with_Attorney_Cassie_Springer_Ayeni
Read MoreSelma Blair and Our Culture of Disability Disbelief By Cassie Springer Ayeni
Selma Blair walked the red carpet at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party – a vision of radiant beauty sporting a dazzling cane. She then delivered a powerful interview on Good Morning America discussing her Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, a disease of the central nervous system that can cause pain, fatigue, and problems with balance and muscle control, among others. Her presence and determination shined through, reminding me of many of my clients who battle through horrific symptoms to keep working as long as possible, only to be disbelieved by a disability insurance company when they finally need to stop working.
Ms. Blair called MS the “snowflake disease because it’s different – like a fingerprint – for everyone. Not one size fits all.” She also noted that although she has battled MS for years, including with its current manifestation of spasmodic dysphonia – affecting her speech – that “it can be very different in a year, for the better.” The fluctuating symptoms of diseases like MS often make it difficult for a disability insurer to grapple with the notion of disability. Disability insurers like to operate in extremes: either you are totally disabled or you are not; either you can never run an errand or you’re capable of full-time work. It is quite a task to help an insurer know that there are “good days” and “bad days” with many illnesses. Declarations can be extremely useful to provide accounts of symptoms, but insurers tend to dismiss or ignore these probative statements altogether, relying almost exclusively on the medical records reviewers they hire, who have never even met the claimant. One court recently acknowledged the importance of declarations and letters from colleagues and friends, noting that although they “are not medical professionals and do not have the medical training necessary to provide a medical opinion regarding Laurie’s functional capacity, they are arguably in the best position to substantiate Laurie’s subjective complaints. United should not have dismissed them without discussion, and it was an abuse of discretion to do so.” Laurie v. United of Omaha Life Ins. Co., 2017 WL 975947, at *20 (D. Or. Jan. 23, 2017), report and recommendation adopted, 2017 WL 970262 (D. Or. Mar. 13, 2017).
GMA’s interviewer, Robin Roberts, reports that even Ms. Blair’s own doctors did not take her complaints seriously prior to her diagnosis, but attributed her complaints of pain and exhaustion to being a single mother or hormones. She asked for an MRI, but doctors dismissed her request as unnecessary. Yet her exhaustion was overwhelming: “I’d drop my son off at school a mile away and before I got home I’d have to pull over and take a nap.” But Ms. Blair told her doctors “I need to go to work, and I have to stay awake.” After years of symptoms, it finally took Ms. Blair falling in front of a doctor before she received her diagnosis. Ms. Blair has continued working as an actor all these years, noting “I’m still an actress! Mama’s still got to bring home the bacon, people! I’m a single mom!”
Ms. Blair’s narrative aligns with the experience of many of my clients: they fight through symptoms to keep working, fight to get a diagnosis, then fight with an insurance company to receive benefits. It is overwhelming and exhausting. And it is my privilege to take on the insurance companies on my clients’ behalf.
Read MorePresenting @ the ACCTLA sponsored event!
I will be speaking on a panel that presents the topic: Navigating Disability in the Workplace hosted by the @ALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION on Wednesday, May 15th. I look forward to the discussions, questions, and interactions.
For more regarding this event, contact me @ Cassie Springer Ayeni, President of Springer Ayeni, A Professional Law Corporation @www.benefitslaw.com
Or visit: https://lnkd.in/gk8nC2D
Read MoreERISA Administrative Claims and Litigation on June 6 in DC!
Getting excited to speak on ERISA Administrative Claims and Litigation on June 6 in DC! Should be a great panel, with Robert Rachall and Yolanda Montgomery. Join us if you can! https://lnkd.in/gH6h5_d For more regarding this event, contact me Cassie Springer Ayeni, President of Springer Ayeni, A Professional Law Corporation @www.benefitslaw.comhashtag#Employeedisabilitybenefitshashtag#ERISAdisablityhashtag#ERISAlawyerhashtag#Superlawyerhashtag#Disabilityclaimshashtag#Disabilityappealshashtag#Longtermdisabilityhashtag#ERISAlitigatorhashtag#ERISAbayareahashtag#Disabilitylawyerhashtag#Employeebenefitslawyerhashtag#ERISAlawfirmhashtag#benefitslawhashtag#Springerayenihashtag#ABAhashtag#EBChashtag#erisa
Read MorePresenting at San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association
On Tuesday November 20th, I will be on a panel discussing the topic “Negotiating Tactics” at the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association. What better way to navigate the Thanksgiving table than by attending this Negotiations CLE!
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