Sonny Banks and co-host Joe Dougherty are joined by the founder of the Disability Advocacy Group, Maria Bermudez. They discuss Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
The Sonny Banks show is sponsored by Tony Schuler of Pinnacle Medical Plus.
Maria Bermudez, founder of Disability Advocacy Group, is a Philadelphia lawyer with twelve years of experience in the areas of Social Security and Long Term Disability benefits. She has represented thousands of claimant’s unable to work due to their impairments during administrative proceedings and in federal court. Before starting her own disability practice, Maria was an Attorney-Advisor for the Social Security Administration. She previously served as the co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Social Security Disability Committee.
EDUCATION – Widener University School of Law & Rosemont College
BAR ADMISSIONS – New Jersey State Bar, Pennsylvania State Bar, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
ACCOMPLISHMENTS – 2015 First Latina Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, 2015 Diverse Attorneys of the Year, 2013 Lawyers on the Fast Track
Halmon L. “Sonny” Banks, III, Esq., is the founder of Banks Law. Mr. Banks has practiced exclusively in the area of Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation since 1985, and is a Certified Workers’ Compensation Specialist as certified by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law as authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He is a member of the Pennsylvania State Bar as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals of the Federal Bar. Mr. Banks is a member of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Association. He is also the past Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He is also on the Program Planning Committee of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He assists in putting together and presenting programs for the Workers’ Compensation Fall Section Meetings. These seminars are attended by attorneys throughout the state of Pennsylvania who practice in the area of Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation. In 2008, Mr. Banks was awarded the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section’s Martha J. Hampton Award. That award is presented to the workers’ compensation attorney or judge who best exemplifies a commitment to the profession while maintaining a unique and close relationship with members of the bar and bench, as well as exemplary compassion, dedication and professionalism. Mr. Banks was recently named the Best Lawyers 2014 Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Law-Claimant’s “Lawyer of the Year.” He is also a member of the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania Association for Justice.
He remains active in both the State and Local Bar Associations in their Workers’ Compensation Sections. Mr. Banks regularly attends continuing legal education seminars on workers’ compensation. He continues to practice on a regular basis before Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Judges and the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board.
Mr. Banks resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Kim, and his three boys, Jake, Griffin, and Mason.