William B. Reeser, Esq.

Of Counsel

William B. Reeser, Esquire, has recently joined Chermol & Fishman, LLC after having retired from the Social Security Administration’s Office of the General Counsel as a Supervisory Attorney in 2008. He has over a quarter-century of experience handling Social Security disability cases for disability applicants as well as for SSA, and as a Federal Law Clerk. Over the years, Mr. Reeser recruited, trained, and supervised many Social Security Administration attorneys and law students working for SSA. He also served as a District Leader, managing disability litigation in several different jurisdictions, including the Southern District of West Virginia, the Northern District of West Virginia, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has written more than 1500 briefs filed in Federal District Courts in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Third and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals. He has presented oral argument in over two dozen disability cases before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and has argued numerous cases before the District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Western District of Pennsylvania, the District of Maryland, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Southern District of West Virginia. He also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for more than five years.

Mr. Reeser actively participated in training SSA personnel and traveled throughout the region to train Administrative Law Judges, ALJ decision writers, and SSA managers. In addition to training on Social Security disability issues, Mr. Reeser presented training on ethics, personnel litigation, and civil rights issues. He has also been a trainer/presenter on several Continuing Legal Education courses on Social Security disability matters. He also served a detail to the Regional Chief Judge’s Office where he helped train ALJ staff and also drafted ALJ decisions.

Mr. Reeser has been honored with many awards over the years with SSA’s Office of the General Counsel and was the first attorney to serve as a Senior SSA Regional Counsel at the GS-15 level in the Philadelphia Regional Office, prior to completing his federal service as a supervisor.

After retiring from SSA in September 2008, Mr. Reeser and his wife have served as missionaries in Hua Hin, Thailand where they have opened a Youth Center for children from the ages of 10-19 and helped to found an international church. They also work with Karen refugees living in Thailand who have been persecuted by the government in their native country of Burma (Myanmar).

Areas of Practice

• Social Security Disability

Bar Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
• U.S. Appeals Court for the Fourth Circuit

Education

• J.D., Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, Pennsylvania
• B.S., Richard Stockton State College, Pomona, New Jersey

Honors and Awards

• Numerous Annual Performance Awards
• SSA General Counsel’s Award for Outstanding Service, 2008
• SSA General Counsel’s Citation for SSA’s DSI Workgroup, 2006
• SSA General Counsel’s Quality Service Award, 2006
• SSA Commissioner’s Volunteer Service Award, 2005
• SSA Region III Chief Judge’s Citation, 2005
• SSA General Counsel’s Citation, 2003
• SSA Commissioner’s Team Award, 1998
• SSA/OGC Quality Service Award, 1998
• SSA/OGC Mack Davis Award, 1998
• SSA/OGC Public Service Award, 1996
• U.S. Dept. of H.H.S., Regional Director’s Citation, 1992
• Mayor’s Commission on Literacy in Philadelphia, 1992
• U.S. Dept. of H.H.S., Regional Director’s Health and Safety Award, 1991
• U.S. Dept. of H.H.S., Office of the General Counsel Superior Achievement Award, 1989

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Pennsylvania Bar Association

Past Employment Positions

Social Security Administration Office of the General Counsel, Philadelphia, PA

• Supervisory Attorney, November 2005 to September 2008

Social Security Administration Office of the General Counsel, Philadelphia, PA

• Senior Attorney, May 1995 to November 2005

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of the General Counsel, Philadelphia, PA

• Associate Regional Counsel, August 1987 to May 1995
• Supervisory Assistant Regional Counsel, August 1989 to November 1991

Van Wyk & Gilfedder, Media, PA

• Associate Attorney, April 1986 to August 1987 where he started a Social Security litigation practice in the office.

The Honorable Edwin E. Naythons, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

• Full Time Law Clerk, March 1984 to April 1986
• Part Time Law Clerk, June 1982 to May 1983
• Drafted over 100 Reports and Recommendations in Social Security disability cases and compiled a Social Security Disability Manual for the Office

Pro Bono/Volunteer Activities

• Serves as the manager of a Youth Center offering many free programs and opportunities to youth in the area.
• Provides hands on assistance to Karen refugees from Burma (Myanmar) living in Thailand.