Spotlight Attorney: John M. Rosenberg

John Goss is not the only attorney who is dedicated to the fight to reinstate benefits to the thousands of claimants who were wronged by Eric C. Conn and the Social Security Administration. There are other attorneys and advocates who have responded to an urgent need for help and joined the fight. We want to pay tribute to some of those fighters who have been very influential in this process as well as in other areas of their life and work.

John Rosenberg is a man who has been dedicated to the fight for justice throughout his law career.  He worked as a Civil Rights attorney from 1962-1970, when he litigated discrimination cases. He then founded the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund (AppalReD), which is a free legal aid office in Eastern Kentucky. It started in Prestonsburg, KY in 1970 and now has expanded to six different offices throughout Eastern Kentucky. During its inception the situation was dire in Appalachia. AppalReD addressed many devastating environmental and coal mine related issues in Appalachia such as black lung disease, abusive land use practices, and disfigured mountain tops caused by strip mining.  AppalReD is on the frontlines representing victims of Eric Conn in the fight to reinstate their social security disability benefits.

John Goss speaks in high regard of Mr. Rosenberg. He has called him an “extraordinary individual” and looks to him as his “personal hero.” John Rosenberg is a Holocaust survivor, humanitarian, and an inspiration to many. This has been displayed through the years and counted by the high awards and recognitions he has received. The great work that John Rosenberg has done gives disenfranchised and impoverished people the opportunity to obtain sound legal aid, including representation by lawyers for social security disability.