Here are ten posts from the first half of this year that are worth revisiting, or worth reading for the first time if you missed them when originally published:
The Social Security "Logical Bridge"
One Residual Functional Capacity, Two Outcomes
The Importance of Regular Updates
I recently read a blog post by North Carolina divorce lawyer Lee Rosen, entitled How a Two-Minute Call Changes Your Clients' Opinion of You. Mr. Rosen explains that in North Carolina, an absolute divorce or Qualified Domestic Relations Order requires substantial waiting period for the client, and during much of that time there is
Disability Blog Roundup – June
Notable posts from the Social Security disability blogs are linked here every other Friday:
- Who is your Administrative Law Judge? from Social Security Disability Lawyer published by Gordon Gates
- Social Security Inspector General Asked To Investigate Outlier ALJs from Social Security News published by Charles Hall
- Documenting Social Anxiety for Social Security from Colorado Social
The 5-Day Rule for Evidence at Hearing
In the Boston region, we receive 75-day notice of hearings, but all evidence to be considered by the ALJ needs to be submitted 5 days ahead of the hearing. See 20 CFR 405.331(a).
The 5-day rule is permissive ("the administrative law judge may decline to accept the evidence"), and often is not enforced.
Tell a Story
Recently the ABA Journal published a post by Jim McElhaney entitled Dirty Dozen: 12 Ways to Write a Really Bad Brief. The list contained this notable tip:
Tell no story. Every brief should tell the story of an injustice, a wrong that needs to be righted or avoided.
The story is central to
Maine and New Hampshire Average Processing Times
The latest statistics for processing times for Social Security hearing offices around the country have been released by the SSA, and reprinted in the May 2011 NOSSCR newsletter. In Maine, the average wait for a hearing decision is now 381 days. This is a month longer than it was last year, and the hearing
Who is your Administrative Law Judge?
When I receive a hearing notice for a Social Security disability claim, the first thing I want to know is the name of the administrative law judge (ALJ) who will hear the case and then decide the claim. It shouldn't matter which judge hears your case, since they all interpret the same regulations and would
Social Security Disability Blog Roundup
Every other Friday I post links to notable posts from the Social Security disability blogs:
- Report on California Disability Determination Services shows failure to properly adjudicate and Can I receive Social Security Disability benefits and Veterans’ Disability benefits at the same time? from the California Social Security Lawyer Blog published by Geri Kahn
- Social Security
Snippets from U.S. District Court – Maine
I have been working on a federal court brief, which will be filed today. Here in Maine, we have local rule 16.3, which streamlines Social Security appeals. These cases are routed to the magistrate judge in Portland, Hon. John Rich III, who decides the appeal based upon an Itemized Statement of Errors filed by the
ALJ Disposition Rates – How Low is Too Low?
Only recently did we learn the rates at which Social Security Administrative Law Judges grant and deny the claims they hear. Of course, we disability lawyers would keep track of our own claims, and talked with other disability lawyers about their experience with local judges. But the big picture was never clear.
However, after a