Tabak Law’s Brzezinski helps clients fighting for benefits

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After graduating college, James Brzezinski was working in marketing, but felt less than fulfilled.

“I wanted something meaningful for a career and thought the law might be a way to do just that,” said Brzezinski, a partner at Tabak Law in Glendale and lawyer who specializes in helping clients fight for veterans’ administration, Social Security and workers’ compensation briefs. “I was right. I am doing something now that makes a difference.”

After deciding to leave marketing, Brzezinski initially enrolled part-time at Marquette Law School and also had a job at the VA, where he evaluated whether veterans qualified for benefits.

“I started out just going half-time to make sure I enjoyed law school and I did,” he said. “I eventually had to make the hard choice between leaving the VA — a job I enjoyed — and going to law school full-time.”

Once done with law school, he quickly put his VA experience to use — this time helping veterans looking to secure their benefits.

“I also discovered Social Security and disability cases are very similar,” Brzezinski said.

“The work on the claims makes me feel like I’m making a difference. You get to see the fruits of your work, but you cannot win every case. These people are really fighting hard, and winning can make the difference between having a roof over your head or not.”

During VA and Social Security hearings, a judge will listen to a client’s claims and then make a decision. A workers’ compensation hearing is similar to a trial with a judge. Both sides can call witnesses, but Brzezinski said most cases are settled before reaching that stage.

“I enjoy being able to see the immediate effects of what I am doing and that motivates me to work as hard as I can,” he said.

VA, Social Security and workers’ compensation cases have two characteristics in common — they can be complicated and take a long time, Brzezinski said.

“It’s important I take very good notes since the time between the different steps can be awhile,” he said. “It’s also hard to keep people positive throughout the experience, so they don’t feel like giving up.”

Outside his legal practice, Brzezinski keeps busy at Wills for Veterans, a pro bono program that has lawyers gather on a particular day at a single location and write estate plans and related documents free of charge for veterans.

“Working on Wills for Veterans has been enjoyable. We’ve been able to help between 200 and 300 veterans by providing them with these important documents,” he said.

Wisconsin Law Journal: What makes your work important to you?
James Brzezinski: I feel like I am actually able to make a real difference in the lives of my clients. When we win a disability case with either the VA or Social Security, the benefits our clients receive can be the difference between our clients having a roof over their heads or living on the street. Our office has been told by clients on numerous occasions that we had saved their lives by getting them the benefits they need. It is a really amazing feeling to know that the work we have done has provided our clients the opportunity to live with dignity.

WLJ: Who is your hero in the legal field?
Brzezinski: I don’t necessarily have a hero in the legal field. One thing I believe strongly is that we are a helping profession and that pro bono work is super important. Of course, lawyers need to make a living, but I have a great deal of respect and admiration for those lawyers who are willing to help out someone in need without the thought of what they will get in return.

WLJ: What do you do outside of work to deal with stress from the office?
Brzezinski: I am a family man. My family is everything to me, and as soon as I walk in the door to my amazing wife and children, my stress from the office seems to evaporate. I currently have a 1-year-old little girl named Emersyn and a 4-year-old boy named Owen. The amount of joy they bring to my life is indescribable and the smiles on their faces when I get home easily wash away the stresses of the workday.

WLJ: What’s one thing many people get wrong about what you do?
Brzezinski: The biggest misconception about my line of work is the view many Americans have of the people applying for disability benefits. The media and many in the government have done all they could to demonize people seeking disability benefits. They have highlighted the very few instances of people making fraudulent claims. The general view is that people seeking disability benefits are lazy and just don’t want to work. In fact, I was under the same impression before I got in to this line of work. However, this is most definitely not the case. Our clients are amazing, hard-working people, who are generally filing for disability as a last resort. Most have tried on multiple occasions to work, but because of their medical conditions were unable to continue or were fired. Many of our clients have lost everything because of their medical conditions and would do anything to get back to the work they used to do.

WLJ: What’s your favorite memory from law school?
Brzezinski: My favorite memory from law school was when I went to New York for a moot court competition. The competition was focused on labor and employment law. Preparing for this competition was by far the hardest work that I had done while in law school. Our team burnt the candle at both ends for many weeks writing the brief for the competition and then preparing for oral arguments. To go out and compete against many of the nation’s top law schools was an amazing experience and one that I will never forget.

WLJ: Is there a certain case that stands out to you?
Brzezinski: The case that stands out to me right now is the Citizens United decision. The case opened the floodgates to unlimited amounts of money being spent in politics. This decision has basically given those with more money a bigger voice in how our government is run. Since that decision, the claims made by both sides in political ads, along with the sheer volume of ads on TV and the Internet, have become ridiculous. Additionally, it seems as if the average person is either not equipped or doesn’t care enough to dig in to the facts behind the claims. After going through one of the worst political ad seasons ever, I am already dreading 2020. Hopefully something changes by then.