A JUDGE GIVES GOOD ADVICE

I recently got a call from a lady who had just walked out of a Social Security disability hearing.  She was unrepresented.  The judge advised the claimant to get representation and offered to delay the hearing until it could be obtained.  Wisely, the claimant took the judge's advice and immediately began looking for a representative.

Rarely do judges hear disability cases where the claimant is not represented.  And there is a reason for that.

"I thought I just went before the judge and told her my story and that was all there was to it," the claimant said.  "When I got into the hearing room, I found that it was much more complicated and I wasn't prepared for what was about to happen."

People commonly under estimate Social Security hearings.  These are hearings before a real judge, with all persons giving testimony under oath. Complex Social Security law and procedural rules will be used.  Vocational testimony will likely be given by a vocational expert using terms that you don't understand:  past relevant work, skill level, SVP, exertional level, medium exertional, light exertional, sedentary, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, etc.  You will not know how to cross examine the vocational expert to control potentially damaging testimony.  And you will have nobody to help prepare your own testimony prior to the hearing.

I tell claimants that going before an administrative law judge without representation would be equivalent to my getting into the ring with Mike Tyson or George Foreman and going 10 rounds.  It would not be a fair fight.  Believe me!  (Hurts to think about it)!

There is no risk in hiring qualified representation.  You cannot be charged a fee unless 2 things happen:  you win your case and you collect lump sum back pay off your claim.  Your representative will be paid a small percentage of your back pay.  Remember, back pay is not automatic.  You have to prove that you qualify for it.  That is another area where good representation isn't expensive - it's priceless.