M. Jacqueline Walther is committed to helping others by protecting their legal rights. Her first job as a lawyer was with a legal aid agency, Prairie State Legal Services, representing people in civil cases, including Social Security disability and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims.
After leaving Prairie State, Jacky was an appellate court staff attorney. In that capacity, Jacky gained valuable insight into the process of considering and deciding appeals, knowledge that she continues to rely upon in her current work representing claimants in appeals from denials by Social Security.
When Jacky Walther entered private practice, appeals remained a significant part of her work. Jacky has represented defendants in criminal appeals before the Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Appellate Court, and United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
In 1988, Jacky joined her husband, Robert Kielian, in a practice concentrated in Social Security disability and SSI claims. They practice law together because of their shared values and a mutual goal of helping others in their work as lawyers. Jacky has successfully represented numerous claimants in appeals to the Appeals Council and Federal District Court from denial decisions in claims for Social Security disability and SSI. Given her appellate experience, Jacky is primarily responsible for the office's federal court cases.
Since 1992, Jacky Walther has also served as counsel to the Review Board of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, providing legal research and writing services to assist Board members deciding appeals involving issues of professional ethics.
More recently, Jacky has been admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, to use her experience to also assist disabled veterans appealing from decisions of the Veterans Administration (VA) in disability claims.
