Monday, April 29, 2013

SSA Goes Back to Releasing Name of ALJ for Hearing

The Social Security Administration has changed its policy back to putting the Administrative Law Judges name on the SSDI hearing notice.  This is a welcome policy change for representatives and claimants at the hearing stage.  It is particularly important to SSDI lawyers who have become knowledgeable of what certain ALJs find important.  As we all know no two people are the same and the same goes for Judges.  Therefore, knowing what a certain ALJ finds to be important to a case can help a lawyer gather the right evidence and present that evidence in a way that is more helpful to the ALJ.  I believe the decision to go back to including the name of the ALJ on the notice of hearing for Social Security Disability cases was the right thing to do.  I think most people who are waiting for an SSDI hearing would like to know the name of the ALJ that will hear their case.