Unemployment insurance doesn't always work how it should.
Ben can help.
When you've lost your job,
unemployment insurance is supposed to be there for you, to bridge the gap.
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But sometimes, things go wrong.
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Maybe your old employer says you were really an independent contractor who doesn't get unemployment coverage. Or maybe they say you were fired for misconduct when you really lost your job through a misunderstanding.
Maybe you're not getting paid the benefits you're owed. Or maybe you got a letter ordering you to pay back benefits you already got—and already spent.
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You have rights. Ben can help you fight for them.
Our fees are transparent.
Burdick Law's fee structure is simple.
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1. You pay a $600 deposit (or "retainer"), which is held in a trust account. This remains your property until and unless you win your case and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board approves our fee request. If the deposit represents an extreme hardship for you, we can waive the deposit in appropriate cases.
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2. If you win your case, we ask the Board for approval to charge a fee of $200 an hour for work we put in, but never more than half the amount of benefits you received. Most cases cost less than $1,000 and some cost less than $500. The Board ensures that the fee we charge is fair and reasonable, and we charge you only the fee approved by the Board.* Your deposit counts towards the fee, and you get any unused deposit back.
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3. If you lose your case, you don't pay anything and you get your $600 back.
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*Burdick Law PLLC reserves the right to seek appellate review of adverse fee decisions. ​
More About Ben
Before entering law school, Ben studied theoretical physics. After obtaining a bachelor's degree from New York University, he went on to earn a master's degree from the prestigious Perimeter Institute in Canada, where he studied the philosophical and mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics. Ben loved the intellectual rigor of physics, but decided ​to study law in order to put his writing skills to concrete use improving the lives of ordinary people.
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Ben received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Executive Editor and Student Notes Editor of the Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law. He published work in the Journal which can be found at 41 BJELL 409 (2020) and 40 BJELL 167 (2019). During law school, he worked as a law clerk in the Alameda offices of Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld P.C., volunteered with the East Bay Community Law Center's Tenants' Rights Workshop, and served as a student director of Legal Aid at Work's Workers' Rights Clinic.
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After graduating law school, Ben served as a law clerk to Justice Lidia Stiglich of the Nevada Supreme Court. Subsequently, he returned home to Syracuse, where he worked as an associate attorney at Blitman & King LLP, representing public- and private-sector labor unions. Ben founded Burdick Law PLLC in 2023. ​
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In addition to managing the firm, Ben has served as an independent contract attorney with Satter Ruhlen Law Firm PLLC and Abdo & O'Brien P.C. Now that Burdick Law PLLC is transitioning to a focus on unemployment insurance cases, Ben's good relationships with other worker- and union-side Syracuse firms make for an invaluable referral network when issues outside of unemployment arise.
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Ben and his wife have two children and two dogs. In his free time he enjoys hiking, skiing and gardening.
Testimonials
I was hopeless and frustrated both mentally and financially after replacing two attorneys who kept charging me a lot for endless paperwork but made little progress after almost 4 years of back-n-forth. ... Before I gave up on the system, a friend of mine recommended Benjamin. He not only caught up my case for very reasonable cost, he also showed care and understanding of my situation like no one else before. ... He kept the process very transparent and his strategy was super effective and efficient.
W. Z.