“I'd been denied twice on my own. Ravi got my orthopedist to write down what I can't lift anymore, and the judge read it.”
Ray T.SSDI hearing
Nonprofit benefits law clinic
You did the work. We'll do the paperwork.
Muster Legal Clinic helps workers, veterans and their families in Fayetteville and Cumberland County claim the disability benefits they paid into or earned in service. Social Security, SSI and VA claims and appeals, with an attorney on your side and no fee.
- No feeNot now, not from back pay
- Free first meetingIn person or by phone
- Open Saturdays1st and 3rd, 9am to 1pm
- VA-accreditedAttorneys for veterans' claims
We charge no fee for any service on this site. If a case needs records a provider charges for, we tell you the cost first, and grant funds usually cover it.
Why we're here
A disability claim shouldn't take a lawyer you can't afford.
Most people who come to us have worked for decades: on loading docks, job sites, in kitchens, at the post. Then a back gives out, a heart slows down, or the injuries from a deployment catch up. The work stops. The bills don't.
Social Security and the VA owe them benefits, but the forms are long, the medical proof is specific, and most first claims come back denied. Private representatives take a cut of the back pay for walking someone through it.
We're a nonprofit law office funded by grants and our neighbors, so we take that cut from no one. Our attorneys gather the records, write the arguments and go to the hearing with you, start to finish.
The numbers that matter
What to know before you file
None
Our feeFor every service we offer
60 days
To appeal an SSA denialCounted from the letter, plus five for mail
1 year
To act on a VA decisionTo keep your original effective date
2 Saturdays
Open every monthFor people who can't take a weekday off
Deadlines here are the general rules; your decision letter states the one that applies to you. Call us as soon as it arrives.
What we handle
Four kinds of claims, start to finish
Every case starts with a free meeting. We tell you which program fits, what proof it needs, and whether we can take it on.
Social Security disability (SSDI)
For workers who paid into Social Security and can't keep working because of a health condition expected to last a year or more.
About SSDI claimsSupplemental Security Income (SSI)
Monthly support for disabled adults, children and people 65 and older with little income, whether or not they've worked.
About SSI claimsVA disability compensation
Service connection, rating increases and secondary conditions for veterans, from the first claim to the Board.
About VA claimsDenials and appeals
Reconsideration, hearings before a judge and VA reviews. A denial letter is a starting point, not the end of it.
About appeals
Who comes to us
People who kept things running
Warehouse hands, framers, drivers, line workers and the soldiers who served beside them. Most of them never expected to need us.
In their words
What clients tell us after
“Curtis served too, so I didn't have to explain what a burn pit was. He found the records I didn't know existed.”
Denise W.VA claim, Hope Mills
“They came on a Saturday because I work Monday to Friday caring for my mother. Nobody else would.”
Marcus L.SSI for a parent
Each client's case is different, and what happened in one doesn't predict the outcome of another.
Start here
Bring your letters. We'll take it from there.
Call or send a few details, and an attorney or paralegal gets back to you within two business days. If you can give instead, your support keeps the clinic free.
We charge no fee for any service on this site. If a case needs records a provider charges for, we tell you the cost first, and grant funds usually cover it.