Ronald B. Eskin

Ronald B. Eskin, B.A. University of Pittsburgh, with high honors (1974), J.D. University of Buffalo (1977). Bar memberships: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States Courts of Appeal for the 1st, 3rd and 6th Circuits, U.S. District Courts: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Western District of Michigan, Central District of Illinois, District of Colorado, and Northern District of Florida.

Mr. Eskin has practiced for over 30 years, primarily in the areas of public disability benefits and private disability benefits. His practice includes representation of workers who suffered illegal discrimination and students with special needs who have not been properly served. He has been recognized by his peers and others, by being awarded:

-the New Hampshire Bar Association annual award to an attorney who is recognized for distinguished service, in 1989;

-the 2001 Central New England Multiple Sclerosis Society citizen's award, recognizing his contributions to its mission through his legal work;

-the Lowell Bar Association award in 2005 to an attorney who has been outstanding in performing pro bono legal work;

-the designation as a "Super Lawyer" by Boston Magazine, in 2006 and 2007 and

-the Norman D'Amour Attorney of the Year Award in 2010, by the Greater Lowell Bar Association.

He regularly presents cases through the various U.S. District Courts across the country, representing Social Security disability claimants in thirty states. He has won significant victories there and in the U.S. Courts of Appeal.

Over his legal career, Mr. Eskin has successfully brought numerous class actions, including those on behalf of:

-tens of thousands of disabled applicants and recipients of general relief in Massachusetts General Relief whose benefits were unfairly and illegally cut off or denied;

-hundreds of food stamps households whose benefits were illegally reduced;

-inmates in a large county jail who were confined in inhumane conditions which constituted cruel and unusual punishment;

-dozens of students in a school district in Michigan who were denied class credit and the right to graduate;

-thousands of Medicaid recipients in New Hampshire whose services were severely limited; and

Mr. Eskin often is selected to train other lawyers in the practice of social disability law, and has also presented trainings regarding special education, school exclusion and practice in federal courts. He has written articles published in bar journals, which concern social security, child welfare legislation, and how to handle a "high volume" legal practice.

Sorat Chan Ly

Sorat Chan Ly has been the paralegal in this office since 2001, with a broad knowledge of Social Security Administration operations and routines. He speaks Khmer and Vietnamese, and has deep roots in the Asian Community in Lowell and Boston. In recognition of his valuable background, Mr. Ly was asked to serve a term on the Governors' Asian American Commission. His knowledge of the circumstances of low income people has been formed not just from his own experience as a refugee from Cambodia, but also from his past employment as a:

• case manager at Lutheran Child and Family Services;
• a receptionist at Merrimack Valley Legal Services;
• a social services worker at Lowell Community Health Center; and
• a leasing representative for subsidized housing at River Place Towers

In his spare time, Mr. Ly teaches martial arts and traditional lion dancing at the Shaolin Hung Gar Fu School in Boston. Under his leadership, it has become internationally recognized, and has performed widely, including before several universities in the Boston/Cambridge area, the Democratic Convention and the Taiwanese Embassy. He also runs a successful business with his wife in Boston's Chinatown.