035: Michelle Roberts on ERISA and Disability Insurance
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Michelle Roberts is formerly of Kantor & Kantor LLP, and now founder of Roberts Disability Law in the Bay Area.  She has spent her entire legal career helping individuals with disabilities obtain income replacement benefits from their employer’s group disability plans, and works from the heart after watching her father, a disabled veteran, struggle to work and support his family while dealing with the consequences of debilitating medical conditions. In so doing, she has worked with hundreds of clients with invisible illnesses and understands the unique challenges of proving disability to an insurance company. Her focus is handling claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, also known as ERISA. Michelle is a recognized “Super Lawyer” in her field and speaks and writes regularly about the developments in ERISA law. Michelle received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.  

**Join us as Michelle shares… **

• what ERISA is, and how it applies to the disability community 

• her personal connection to the disability community, and disabled veterans 

• the role of the opioid crisis in legal proceedings under ERISA 

• that she happily takes on an empathic role with her clients 

• typical social security benefits turnaround time: 1.5-2 years 

• that client surveillance is fairly common in the insurance field 

• the importance of quality mental health care 

• the moral imperative of employers to provide benefits that include mental health services 

• her volunteer work in the local legal community, through Legal Aid and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel 

• tips for Spoonies on obtaining disability insurance and fighting claim denials  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit uninvisiblepod.substack.com)