Most of my impression of Heard & Smith is over several years of personal contact in helping me with my Department of Veterans' Affairs paperwork. I was cautioned about using a lawyer to assist with VA paperwork and just use a veteran's advocate, i.e. DAV, American Legion, etc. only so you would get the full amount of your VA Claim. My VA social worker suggested using a lawyer to assist, if the other routes proved a long wait or confusing. I've been successfully represented for both my Social Security Disability (resulted in a favorable Bench Decision) and Department of VA claims (am currently receiving 100% VA Disability) with none of personal information compromised, or lost. My contacts with this firm we all professional, friendly, and knowledgeable about current VA procedures and policies. I could contact by phone, fax, or email getting a reply in a reasonable time-frame. The only downside was that the location I used on Broadway had moved between my cases. I called the offices and was given the new address; the sign relating the new information was erroneously removed by cleaning staff at the old location. As VA policies, new laws affecting veterans change, and more confusing paperwork from the VA is addressed to me, I count myself fortunate to have this law firm help me wade through the bureaucracy with a lot less time and frustration using available veteran service groups. Don't get me wrong. The Vet groups are still a valuable resource and they do a great service, but if you want an option to have a Law firm assist you with Veteran Claims with peace of mind and not wait in long lines at a VA Clinic or local Veteran's organization, I strongly suggest Heard & Smith to assist with your claims. Lastly, I want to recognize the hard work of my Attorney Jill and VA Benefits Legal Assistant, Barbara... a great team! For a small percentage of your overall VA claim, I know my choice is well worth it! read more

These people are hucksters, liars, and completely ineffectual. I would go on about their lack of professionalism but this Law Firm and all of its lawyers should be disbarred from practicing Law. They were of absolutely no use and completely unprofessional. read more

I would not recommend! I called Heard and Smith for their free consultation. Not only did I not get a consultation, but the girl that answered the phone gave me a different number to call because she couldn't put me thru "due to technical difficulties. Then the man that answered the phone, despite the fact that we were both speaking English, it was like he couldn't comprehend what I was saying. Whatever I said, he would then ask me a question which was already answered with the information that I had just given to him. Example: I said I had filed and had a current case and wanted to get a consultation and perhaps hire them." He said, "ok, call back when you are ready to file." It went on like that. Very frustrating! read more

It was recommended that I contact Heard & Smith for their help regarding a disability claim. I contacted them in March of 2024 and at that time, the agent suggested that I call them back later in the year when it would be more appropriate for me to file a claim. As per the agent's suggestion, I waited and then recently contacted the company. I was assigned to a man named Eric and initially received his voicemail. We played phone tag for for about a week before I finally reached him today. As I answered the phone from his call, he hug up on me. When I immediately called back, I was on hold for 10-15 minutes before I spoke with a live agent. When I was finally transfered to Eric, he was rude, condescending, and didn't even allow me to explain my situation. All he said was he read my notes and would not connect me with my initial contact in March. He kept evading my requests and questionns, would not listen to me, said he would not help me and finally hung up on me! When I called back, the agent would not give me a reason as to why Heard & Smith would not help me (after they initially instructed me to re-contact them when I was ready). Now, they refuse to help me at all! THIS IS DISCRIMINATION. The level of arrogance from this company is astounding! If I could give 0 stars for this review, I would. read more

UPDATE: FUNNY, I let them know about my filing a grievance with the Texas bar and suddenly NOW I've gotten three phone calls just this AM ....after they already lost my case! Imagine if they put even half this effort into my actually case. A different outcome for sure. We'll see what the Texas bar says. Scary! read more

I hired them 5 yrs. ago and they came through with my disability within 3 and a half months. Yes, I had to call and keep abreast of things that were going on, but then again I'm proactive. I would call if I hadn't heard anything, and ask questions. I am satisfied with their work. read more

Well I have read the reviews and couldn't believe what I read. I had attorney Fred J. Fleming for over 4 years and did nothing for my case and the attorney didn't even show up for my hearing. I fired the attorney and then contacted Heard and Smith. They were all very nice and professional. I went ahead and hired the attorney. they guided me through the whole process, and in 6 months ( 1 week ago) I received a phone call from my attorney who advised me, that they had just been notified that I had won my appeal case. I then got a letter in the mail a week later from Social Security Disability which in deed stated that I won my case and what amount I would receive. I could not have done it without them and want to thank them very much. It is great finally to be done with the case and can enjoy my life now after waiting over 4 years with another attorney who did nothing. read more

I used Heard & Smith for my disability. They were great! Won my case. And I had a great attorney. The only slow party was Social Security. read more

Heard & Shit is the absolute worst law firm I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I have to beg and plead to receive any contact and all I receive is the same old excuses..."sorry, nothing has been done yet"... Anyone seeking legal help would be better off representing themselves. read more

I am pretty sure H&S changed their information/name on Yelp to avoid people seeing their poor reviews on their original business entry. Go back and read the reviews. This is by far the worst operation I have ever done business with. Not only are you not assigned a point of contact (you get "helped" by whoever in their call center-and expect different answers from different staff. Not only did they never inform me of the SSA's decision (all I got from them was a letter asking me to refer them to friends with business cards and magnets) but instead of the $6000 I had to pay them by law (or 25% of the award-which ever is LESS) the claimed $18000 (yes 18 thousand) dollars, which the Social Security Administration took out of my award and paid them directly) FOR EXPENSES!!!!! What expenses? I did most of the work!!!!! Run. Run very far from this firm-find one that is LOCAL to you and has good reviews. I'm planning on paying to join Angie's List just to write a review about them. And I can't afford to do it, but that's how strongly I feel. read more

Heard & Smith helped me win my case from the initial claim. Submitted application for me and filled out all the forms to win my case. I got my disability in less than 4 months, I was shocked after reading and hearing how hard it is to be approved. I would recommend Heard & Smith to anybody applying for disability. read more

DO NOT HIRE!!! This Law Firm was NEGLIGENT and violated my HIPAA (Health Information Protection rights) by sending unsecured Medical Records through the mail. I was NEVER allowed to talk to an attorney when I was sent a letter promising discussions with my attorney during the WEEK BEFORE my hearing. This law firm NEVER PROVIDED THE COURT WITH MY MEDICAL RECORDS although the letter promised I would be contacted the week before my hearing to ensure all my medical records were obtained. Many, many of my phone calls & emails were IGNORED. I had to drive to my doctor's office to obtain & hand deliver my medical records to the Judge post hearing. The attorney that showed up to represent me was adversarial, abusive, non-professional and he jeopardized my SSD case. He LIED to the Court by stating that I "never returned phone calls" when they never called me and THEY NEVER RETURNED MY PHONE CALLS. I will be filing a complaint with the Texas & California Bar Associations. This law firm did not represent me at trial, dismissed me as their client and is trying to put a lien on my SSD benefits for their "work" even though they jeopardized my case and THE JUDGE DENIED THEIR RIGHT TO RECOVER FEES. read more

Read the first review. RUN from this firm as fast as you can. I only spoke with clerks answering the phone for the first months. My case was good they said. They told me I could do a small amount of work. Turns out it was the wrong thing to do. Learned that when I finally talked to a lawyer about a video hearing. Video hearing was a good thing because my case was good. Turns out not so good by the attorney representing me at the hearing. He called about a month ahead and said case was a 50/50 shot. Got to the hearing and he told me essentially that case was a loser. I could pass on hearing or go through with it. 10 minutes before the hearing he presented a contract for fees. Who has time to read it before hearing. Case going south at hearing and he did nothing to help bring it out of the toilet. Now benefits denied. They protected right to appeal but will not handle appeal briefing or procedural matters. Cut me loose. Can find another firm they said. Case is good they said. They know that is crap and reversal is almost impossible to do. Try the Bob Richardson law firm in Austin. RUN RUN RUN as fast as you can from this firm. read more