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    In a Hard Time, Here’s Someone Who Understands

    As an Alabama disability lawyer since the 1990s, John Pennington has helped thousands of people collect the Social Security Disability and long-term disability insurance benefits they need to lead steady lives after setbacks to their health.

    Before he was a lawyer, John was a nurse. That gives him a background especially suited to helping people apply for disability benefits.

    Disability law is about caring for people and their well-being. And every disability claim involves severe health problems.

    John understands the medical records you’ll need to qualify for benefits and how to work with your doctors and other health care providers as you build your case.

    He was a licensed a licensed registered nurse in Alabama, California and Colorado before he went to law school.

    After law school, he worked as trial lawyer in workplace injury and personal injury cases—including car accidents, medical malpractice and hazardous products—which also put his medical knowledge to work.

    He learned from the pioneering Alabama personal injury lawyer Frank Tipler in Andalusia, Ala.

    In 1990 he began practicing law in Birmingham and soon added Social Security Disability claims for government benefits and long-term disability claims under private insurance policies to his services.

    He formed his own law firm, Pennington Law Firm, in 2003, focusing on disability law. In 2024, he joined with Alabama disability attorney Abbey Clarkson to form Clarkson Pennington Law.

    John has extensive experience with appeals of Social Security Disability denials, from hearings with Social Security administrative law judges to lawsuits in federal court.

    His reputation as a disability lawyer is so strong that other attorneys and health care professionals often refer cases to him. He has helped people get Social Security Disability benefits in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee.

    Get in touch with John and the Clarkson Pennington disability legal team for help moving forward with your life in Birmingham, Gadsden, North Alabama, Montgomery, the Black Belt, Mobile and the Gulf Coast. If you’re in Chattanooga, anywhere in Tennessee—and actually the entire Southeastern United States—we can help you.

    We’re not here to get you a handout. We’re here to give you a hand up.

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    Practice Areas
    • Social Security Disability
    • Individual long-term disability insurance claims
    • Long-term disability claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
    Education

    Samford University, Cumberland School of Law

    • Juris Doctor, 1986

    University of Alabama, Birmingham

    • Bachelor of science in nursing, 1978
    Court & Bar Admissions
    • Alabama state courts
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
    • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
    • U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
    • Supreme Court of the United States
    Associations & Activities
    • American Association for Justice
    • Alabama Association for Justice
    • National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR)
    • Birmingham Bar Association
    • Shelby County Bar Association
    • Huntsville Madison County Bar Association
    • Multiple Sclerosis Society, board of trustees/member, 2002-2006

    Meet Our Alabama Disability Legal Team

    Along with your Alabama disability lawyer from Clarkson Pennington Law, you get a whole support team. Our attorneys and paralegals are devoted to helping hard-working, regular folks navigate the arduous process of claiming Social Security Disability. We seriously care about you and provide real help.

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    “I wish a thousand times I could have found out about Mr. Pennington when I first started my case. But praise God for him and his team. We won. And they called me ASAP with the great news. He represented me for SSDI, and I am telling everyone I know about his law firm and his staff. Wonderful people. I didn’t feel like a money case to them, but I felt like he really did whatever he could to help.”

    Therecia Street in Google Reviews

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