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Managing Partner

Mr. Chermol is a Founding and Lead Partner at the disability law firm of Chermol & Fishman, LLC. He represents Social Security disability and SSI claimants across the United States both at the administrative level and in federal court.

From 1997 until 2007, Mr. Chermol was as an Assistant Regional Counsel for the Social Security Administration’s Office of the General Counsel in Philadelphia.

In this capacity, he served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Commissioner of Social Security in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of Delaware.

Mr. Chermol was a GS-15 level attorney and served as the Commissioner’s senior disability litigator in Mid-Atlantic Region III.

He personally litigated or developed litigation strategy in most of the major disability cases resulting in published decisions in the Third and Fourth Circuits during his ten years at SSA. He received two Excellence in Service Awards and a General Counsel’s citation in his career at SSA, along with numerous other awards.

Mr. Chermol provided national and regional training to SSA’s administrative law judges with respect to disability law and how to issue legally defensible decisions. In coordination with the Department of Justice, he provided national training to SSA’s attorneys on effective oral and written appellate advocacy.

Mr. Chermol acted as SSA’s lead author, presenter, and editor for the 2006 and 2007 Continuing Legal Education courses in Pennsylvania on disability appeals in the federal courts. He served on a four-member national team to advise the Commissioner of SSA on issues pertaining to the review ability of subsidy determinations for the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

Ready to handle your case, no matter where you live.
Call our firm today at 1-888-SSI-PAID (1-888-774-7243)Mr. Chermol currently serves by appointment of the court as Social Security Disability Pro Se Appeals Coordinator in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  He also served for several years as the Co-Chair for the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Social Security Disability Committee. He has also been named the 2013-2014 National Association of Disability Representatives Member of the Year.

Mr. Chermol was the leading appellate disability attorney in the nation pursuing Appointments Clause constitutional challenges in the disability context, litigation which ultimately led to the Supreme Court’s favorable decision in the case of Carr v. Saul, 141 S.Ct. 1352 (2021)

Mr. Chermol was a member of the National Disability Policy Committee for President Barack Obama’s 2008 Campaign and in that capacity served as Regional Co-Director on disability issues in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Chermol won the League of Conservation Voters’ 2004 Grassroots Leadership Award for the state of Pennsylvania due to his exhaustive efforts in raising voter awareness of environmental issues. He was also nominated as one of three finalists for LCV’s national grassroots leadership award for that year.

Since 1998, Mr. Chermol has served on the regional and state wide steering committees for the environmental group Clean Water Action. Prior to attending law school, he worked in a national leadership position for Clean Water Action as a grassroots organizer in various parts of the country.

Mr. Chermol believes that his greatest contribution is serving as a Big Brother to a young man in West Philadelphia as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. If you have ever considered becoming a Big Brother or a Big Sister, don’t wait another day.

Mr. Chermol received his law degree from Temple University and his B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Boston College. He graduated high school from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia.

Areas of Practice

• 100% Social Security Disability

Litigation Percentage

• 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

Below is a list of federal courts to which Mr. Chermol is admitted. However, our firm handles disability matters in all 50 states and every United States territory. We can handle your disability claim wherever you live.

Name of Court	Date Admitted	In Good Standing
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania	05/19/1997	Yes
4th Circuit Court of Appeals	05/27/1998	Yes
Eastern District of Pennsylvania	01/23/2008	Yes
Middle District of Pennsylvania	06/18/2009	Yes
3rd Circuit Court of Appeals	05/13/2010	Yes
Eastern District of Arkansas	06/28/2010	Yes
Western District of Arkansas	06/28/2010	Yes
Western District of New York	05/26/2011	Yes
District of Colorado	03/16/2012	Yes
Northern District of Texas	09/25/2012	Yes
Eastern District of Texas	09/28/2012	Yes
Eastern District of Michigan	11/01/2012	Yes
Central District of Illinois	11/16/2012	Yes
Northern District of Illinois	12/13/2012	Yes
Western District of Wisconsin	02/07/2013	Yes
Southern District of Indiana	02/25/2013	Yes
Northern District of Indiana	03/28/2013	Yes
Northern District of Michigan	04/09/2013	Yes
Western District of Michigan	04/09/2013	Yes
Western District of Texas	06/10/2013	Yes
Western District of Pennsylvania	08/01/2013	Yes
5th Circuit Court of Appeals	09/10/2013	Yes
Southern District of Texas	04/23/2015	Yes
Eastern District of Wisconsin	04/19/2015	Yes
Northern District of Ohio	11/06/2015	Yes
11th Circuit Court of Appeals	09/17/2019	Yes
Eastern District of Oklahoma	09/19/2019	Yes
Western District of Oklahoma	01/22/2020	Yes
6th Circuit Court of Appeals	02/13/2020	Yes
1st Circuit Court of Appeals	04/27/2020	Yes
7th Circuit Court of Appeals	07/17/2020	Yes
9th Circuit Court of Appeals	08/26/2020	Yes
District of North Dakota	09/2020	Yes
Supreme Court of the United States	01/22/2021	Yes
Northern District of New York	04/06/2021	Yes
Northern District of Oklahoma	02/23/2023	Yes
2nd Circuit Court of Appeals	05/02/2024	Yes
8th Circuit Court of Appeals	05/29/2024	Yes
Middle District of Tennessee	03/05/2025	Yes

Education

• J.D., Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Honors: Barrister Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy
• B.A., Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Honors: Dean’s List
  • Major: Political Science & Spanish

Representative Cases

• Matthews v. Apfel, 239F, 3d 589 (3d Cir. 2001)

Classes/Seminars

• Disability Appeals in Federal Court CLE, PBI, 2006
• Disability Appeals in Federal Court CLE, PBI, 2007

Honors and Awards

• 2013-2014 National Association of Disability Representatives Member of the Year
• Co-Chair, Philadelphia Bar Association, Social Security Disability Committee, 2014
• General Counsel’s Citation, 2006
• SSA’s Excellence in Service Award, 2005
• SSA’s Excellence in Service Award, 2006
• League of Conservation Voters’ 2004 Grassroots Leadership Award

Professional Associations and Memberships

• National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives, Sustaining Member
• National Association of Disability Representatives (NADR), Member
  • 2013-2014 Member of the Year

Past Employment Positions

• Social Security Administration Office of the General Counsel, Special Assistant United States Attorney & Assistant Regional Counsel, 1997 – 2007

Pro Bono Activities

• Serves by Appointment of the Court as Social Security Disability Pro Se Appeals Coordinator in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Serves on the Regional and State Wide Steering Committees for the Environmental Group Clean Water Action
• Serves as a Big Brother in West Philadelphia as Part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program

Languages

• English
• Spanish