thickntired's point that the paperwork is daunting is worth taking to heart. This is why I would not recommend anyone undertaking this without some professional help. That doesn't mean it's wisest to sit back and let the law firm do everything. Most of what the law firm does for a applicant is not done by the lawyer. It is done by the clerks in the law office. (The lawyer gets into it when and if you have to go for a hearing.) The law clerks do this stuff every day, so they know what they are doing. Those big firms that specialize in disability have armies of clerks to do a lot of the boring work that involves getting paperwork together.

For instance, you need medical records from everyone you saw for treatment. The law firm I used had a team of clerks who specialized in checking what records were slow in coming back. They are experts in hounding the providers until they get those records. Plus they keep track of all deadlines, which is extremely important. (and I think providers are quicker to cough up those records when the request is coming from a law office.)

There are some alternatives to using a law firm. A lot of communities have a non-profit agency that helps promote the welfare of people with disabilities. Many of these agencies will also help you apply. I went to one. They said they would only help me if I first tried to do it myself and got denied. That's not such a smart way to go. If I had done it myself, I might have made statements to the SSA that would have hurt my claim. Then to try and retract some dumb thing I said would be pretty hard to do. Many lawyers will not take your case, unless you have already been denied. (That's because they make more money on a claim that is going through for the second time, since there will be more back benefits to get a percentage of.) Again: I think it is better to have expert guidance from the get-go, so you don't put down something in writing that you will later find out hurts you. (I learned this from watching on-line videos of attorneys explaining things.)

There are also non-attorney firms for hire that you can use. They help you with the paper work, but they can not give legal advice. I would think they do a decent job. They probably have a level of expertise similar to that of the clerks at the law firms. Still, if you end up having to go to a hearing, you might be best off with a lawyer at that point. and you may not be able to get one at that stage of the game.)

I don't like to waste my money, and I don't like to pay someone to do something I can do myself. So I gave very careful consideration to doing it all alone. In the end, I chose to work with the law firm, and I'm very glad I did. I've heard people say you are better off to work with a local attorney who knows you, rather than one of those big nationwide disability specialist law firms. I would disagree on that. There is nothing like having a specialist, whether it's in medicine or the law.