Practical Approaches to DA&A Cases – 2026 Spring National Conference – Track I (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

Claire Gunner, Esq., Staff Attorney, Disability Advocacy Project, Mental Health Project | Urban Justice Center

Claire Gunner is a Staff Attorney on the Disability Advocacy Project team at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, a position she has held since 2021. She earned a B.C.L./LL.B. from McGill University and was admitted to the New York bar in 2016. In addition to her New York state admission, she is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Her practice focuses on representing Social Security disability claimants at the administrative and federal court levels.

Education & Credentials

• Claire holds a B.C.L./LL.B. (Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws) from McGill University’s Faculty of Law — a dual-degree program that provides training in both civil law and common law traditions, reflecting a rigorous and internationally grounded legal education. She was admitted to the New York bar in 2016 and is also admitted to the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Her federal court admissions reflect an active litigation practice in Social Security disability appeals at both the district and appellate levels.

Recognition & Leadership

• Claire’s position on the Disability Advocacy Project team at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project places her within one of New York City’s most respected public interest disability advocacy organizations. Her admissions to the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the Second Circuit reflect the breadth of her federal litigation practice, and her McGill B.C.L./LL.B. brings a distinctive comparative legal perspective to her work. Her commitment to representing Social Security disability claimants in some of the country’s most demanding legal forums speaks to both her expertise and her dedication to public interest advocacy.

Professional Involvement

• As a staff attorney at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, Claire is engaged in the daily work of representing Social Security disability claimants at the administrative and federal court levels. Her role on the Disability Advocacy Project team connects her to a broader network of practitioners and advocates working to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access the benefits and legal protections to which they are entitled. Her practice is grounded in the Urban Justice Center’s mission of serving marginalized New Yorkers who face systemic barriers to justice.

Experience

• Claire has been a staff attorney on the Disability Advocacy Project team at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project since 2021. Admitted to the New York bar in 2016, she brings nearly a decade of legal experience to her representation of Social Security disability claimants in administrative proceedings and federal court. Her admissions to the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reflect an active and growing federal litigation practice. Her McGill B.C.L./LL.B. provides a strong comparative legal foundation that complements her specialized disability advocacy work in the New York federal courts.

Emilia Sicilia, Esq., Managing Attorney & Statewide Support Attorney, Disability Advocacy Program | Empire Justice Center

Emilia Sicilia is the Managing Attorney and Statewide Support Attorney for the Disability Advocacy Program at Empire Justice Center in Yonkers, New York. Her practice focuses on Social Security disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits, encompassing both individual representation and systemic advocacy and impact litigation. Prior to joining Empire Justice Center, Emilia worked at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project and at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. She is admitted to practice in the State of New York, all four federal districts of New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Education & Credentials

• Emilia holds a Bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and in all four federal judicial districts of New York — the Northern, Western, Eastern, and Southern Districts — as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This comprehensive set of federal admissions reflects her active and broad litigation practice in Social Security disability and SSI matters across New York State and in the federal appellate courts.

Recognition & Leadership

• Emilia holds dual roles at Empire Justice Center as both Managing Attorney and Statewide Support Attorney for the Disability Advocacy Program — a combination that reflects her expertise in both direct representation and the systemic and statewide dimensions of disability advocacy. Her career path, which spans public interest work at the Urban Justice Center and private practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, reflects the breadth of legal experience she brings to her current role. Her admissions to all four New York federal districts and the Second Circuit underscore the scope of her litigation footprint in Social Security and SSI matters.

Professional Involvement

• In addition to her direct representation work, Emilia engages in systemic advocacy and impact litigation — tools that extend her reach beyond individual cases and into the policy and legal frameworks that govern how Social Security disability and SSI benefits are administered across New York. As Statewide Support Attorney, she provides technical support and guidance to a broader network of advocates and attorneys handling disability claims across the state, multiplying the impact of her expertise. Her earlier work at the Urban Justice Center and Paul, Weiss informs a well-rounded approach to advocacy that draws on both public interest and large-firm legal practice.

Experience

• Emilia’s legal career spans public interest disability advocacy and large-firm private practice. She began her public interest work at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, gaining foundational experience in Social Security disability representation, before also working at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. She subsequently joined Empire Justice Center, where she now serves as both Managing Attorney and Statewide Support Attorney for the Disability Advocacy Program. Her practice encompasses individual Social Security disability and SSI representation as well as systemic advocacy and impact litigation, and her admissions to all four New York federal districts and the Second Circuit reflect a litigation practice of exceptional geographic and jurisdictional breadth across New York State.

Shandanette Chase, Esq., Supervising Attorney, Disability Advocacy Project, Mental Health Project | Urban Justice Center

Shandanette Chase is a Supervising Attorney in the Disability Advocacy Project at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, where she represents Social Security disability claimants in administrative appeals and federal court proceedings. Prior to joining the Urban Justice Center, she worked in Bronx Legal Services’ Disability Advocacy Project. A graduate of Hunter College and the George Washington University Law School and School of Public Health, Shandanette brings an interdisciplinary academic background to her advocacy. She is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, multiple federal district courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Education & Credentials

• Shandanette holds a Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and earned her Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School, where she also studied at the School of Public Health — a dual academic background that reflects her commitment to understanding the health and systemic dimensions of disability advocacy. She is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey; the United States District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and the Supreme Court of the United States — a breadth of admissions that speaks to the scope and ambition of her federal litigation practice.

Recognition & Leadership

• Shandanette’s admission to the Supreme Court of the United States, alongside her admissions to multiple federal district and circuit courts, reflects a litigation profile of exceptional reach. As a Supervising Attorney at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, she holds a leadership role at one of New York City’s most respected public interest organizations, guiding the representation of Social Security disability claimants at the administrative and federal levels. Her career trajectory — from Bronx Legal Services to a supervisory role at the Urban Justice Center — reflects the professional recognition she has earned through her commitment and expertise in disability advocacy.

Professional Involvement

• Shandanette’s professional involvement is centered on expanding access to justice for Social Security disability claimants in the New York metropolitan area and beyond. In her supervisory role at the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, she oversees disability advocacy work and contributes to the organization’s broader mission of serving marginalized individuals navigating complex legal and government systems. Her prior experience at Bronx Legal Services and her academic training at GW’s School of Public Health inform a practice philosophy attentive to the intersecting legal, health, and social challenges that disability claimants face.

Experience

• Shandanette’s career in Social Security disability advocacy began at Bronx Legal Services’ Disability Advocacy Project before she joined the Urban Justice Center’s Mental Health Project, where she now serves as a Supervising Attorney. She represents claimants at the administrative level and in federal court, with admissions spanning the District of New Jersey, the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Her GW Law and Public Health education gives her a distinctive analytical lens on the intersection of disability, health policy, and legal rights — one she brings to bear every day in her advocacy on behalf of some of New York’s most vulnerable residents.

I. Practical Approaches to DA&A Cases | 4:00pm – 5:15pm

DA&A is not an automatic bar to disability! This workshop is for people who avoid DA&A cases or seek more practical advice about best practices. Come and discuss ways to win your case with DAA issues. We will go over SSA’s Ruling 13-2p and talk about how to marshal the medical evidence regarding substance use in your pre-hearing memo and when cross-examining an ME, and how to elicit useful testimony from your client on direct examination.