For those who are enrolled in Social Security's online Representative Services, you have instant access to the ALJ's decision, on the day the decision is made and the case is closed.
Once you see on your hearing office status report that a particular case has been closed, access that claimant's electronic folder online. The ALJ's…
I frequently remind readers of the importance of medical source statements for Social Security disability claims.
I try to get medical source statements as early as possible in the claim process. Get them while you can, because you may not be able to get an opinion from that treating source later.
I recently had a conversation…
Those representing clients before the Social Security Administration must file Reconsideration Requests and Hearing Requests for medically denied Title II and Title XVI disability claims online. The requirement went into effect Friday, March 16, 2012.
The new mandate applies to representatives who request and are eligible for direct fee payment, which is pretty much everybody. …
Kaizen is the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, usually in the areas of manufacturing, engineering, and business management. It involves taking frequent small steps to improve your process. After months or a year of making small improvements, you are way ahead of the place where you started.
I have adopted this approach to my…
I had a stretch of time this summer where our little Social Security disability law firm had very few hearings scheduled, due to slowdowns at the Portland, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire hearing offices. I devised a four-point strategy to use the extra time of our two lawyers, our paralegal, and our legal assistant.
Now…
NOSSCR (the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives) sent out a good reminder to its members recently by email: SSA will divide the authorized fee among all appointed representatives in the same firm.
Here is an excerpt of that reminder:
When a claimant appoints more than one concurrent representative in the same firm and
…
I am in a stretch of time where my local hearing offices (Portland, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire) have scheduled only a very few hearings for my clients. Naturally, the summer season in Maine is a perfect time to have things slow down a little. Everyone can get caught up on vacation while the weather is beautiful.
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…
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…
Just a few short years ago, Social Security disability claim files were paper, and getting a copy of the claim file meant literally making a photocopy of the file. You still see paper files every now and then, but they are the exception rather than the rule.
Most claim files are now electronic…
