Conference Program
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
7:30pm-9:30pm
Lawyers and the Legislature
David Goch, Esq.
Most advocates are well versed in “the law,” but not all understand the process by which the statutes (and regulations) that govern our country are developed and how they can effectively educate, and influence, the responsible legislative/regulatory bodies. The session will provide a comprehensive overview of the process of how legislation is proposed, developed, drafted, introduced, and winds its way through the legislature (and ultimately signed into law). In addition, the session will focus on effective communication skills for the lawyer, including aspects of professionalism and ethics that lawyers are otherwise governed by. Learn how to fine-tune your communication skills to reduce the static, make yourself understood, understand others more clearly, and to communicate effectively in a limited time period.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
11:00am-5:30pm
Conference Registration
1:30pm-2:30pm
Workshops: Choose one from the following.
A. Introduction to Social Security Administrative Practice
Paul Eaglin, Esq.
Gil Laden, Esq.
These sessions are intended to introduce the practitioner to the practice of Social Security disability representation. During the two sessions, the presenters will survey the practice from inception of the claimant-representative relationship to the administrative levels of representation. The sessions will not cover federal court representation. Because the topics that are vital at the administrative level are so numerous, the presenters will be able to dwell at length only on selected aspects during the course of representation from inception of the claim through protecting the client’s interest after the initial claims level through the Appeals Council action.
This workshop continues at 2:45pm.
B. SSI Living Arrangements
Ann Biddle, Esq.
Barbara Samuels, Esq.
An SSI recipient’s “living arrangement” is a major determinant of the amount of benefits to which he or she will be entitled. What living arrangements does the federal program recognize? What living arrangements do states providing supplemental payments recognize? Can a living arrangement be changed retroactively? Prospectively? Does a claimant have to move in order to change a living arrangement? What issues may arise when notifying SSA that a living arrangement has been changed? This session will focus on the arcane rules of living arrangements and their byzantine application.
C. How to Analyze and Win DAA Cases (Maybe)
Timothy Cuddigan, Esq.
Warren Reimer, Esq.
Max Schott, Esq.
Individuals who have applied for disability benefits and who continue to use or abuse alcohol or drugs which potentially have a causal relationship with mental or physical conditions and which form the bases of their conditions have an especially difficult row to hoe towards reaching a favorable determination. Provisions of “The Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996” explicitly eliminated benefits under the Social Security Act for individuals for whom alcoholism or drug addiction is “a contributing factor material to the Commissioner’s determination that the individual is disabled.” Beginning with the guidance offered by the agency in the Emergency Teletype it promulgated on August 26, 1996, and incorporating insights found in the caselaw of the Eighth Circuit and other circuits, this presentation is designed to assist the practitioner in developing strategies for winning benefits for this significant group of applicants.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
2:45pm-3:45pm
Workshops: Choose one from the following.
A. Introduction to Social Security Administrative Practice--Continued
Paul Eaglin, Esq.
Gil Laden, Esq.
This workshop is continued from 2:30 pm.
B. Ways Around Walton
Ann Biddle, Esq.
Barbara Samuels, Esq.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court in Barnhart v. Walton, held that performance of substantial gainful activity (SGA) in the 12 months following application and/or onset generally precludes a finding of disability. In this session we will focus on what Walton held, how SSA applies the decision, and some arguments that can be made to overcome Walton’s adverse effects.
C. Tips from the Hall
Ø Learn from Losing, or How to Stop Worrying and Love Federal Court Work
Vaughn Clauson, Esq.
Practitioners are often torn between the need and desire to appeal decisions to the U.S. District Court, and the demands of a volume practice at the administrative level. While we might not see immediate (economic) payoff in terms of EAJA and other fees that we might like, there are benefits in improving our practice at the administrative level. Taking a case to district court means we have already failed to advocate successfully for our client at the ALJ level; the next step is to identify errors that can be prevented when similar situations arise in the future.
Ø The Difference Between Res Judicata and Administrative Finality
Mason Hogan, Esq.
The Social Security Administration often confuses the concepts of administrative finality and res judicata when declining to determine disability for a previously adjudicated period of time, holding that the previous period of time cannot be re-adjudicated due to the mere passage of time, but failing to appreciate that, while the doctrine of administrative finality may prevent reopening, the doctrine of res judicata does not bar re-adjudication. This topic will be explored in the context of a successful federal district court challenge to an ALJ’s early dismissal of a claim on res judicata grounds and the government’s subsequent Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss.
Ø Helping Clients Win Long Term Disability Claims at the Initial Application
Troy Rosasco, Esq.
There was once a time when many of us told clients to apply on their own for SSDI, and call us only if denied. Today, many of us help our clients with the initial SSDI applications stage. Even more so than with SSDI claimants, you should be helping your clients strategize and prepare a bullet-proof application in the adversarial arena of ERISA long term disability claims. This session will explore ways to overcome and avoid the inherent traps and pitfalls used by long term disability insurers to deny claims at the initial application level, thereby preventing costly and time-consuming appeals for claimants.
Ø Remote DLIs—Why it Does Not Stand for Denied, Lose, Impossible
Lawrence Wittenberg
Date Last Insured (DLI). When this is a date in the future, it rarely has any impact on how you prepare or present your case to the Social Security Administration. However, when it has recently passed (i.e., 12/31/07) or it has passed a long time ago (i.e., 12/31/84), it will become a major consideration as you prepare and present your case. DLI only means that you have to prove that your client’s disability began before that date when you are dealing with a Title II claim. Even a DLI of 12/31/84 can be overcome if the records support such a finding. The evidence that already exists in the file was gathered by DDS and is often lacking in many ways and you may need to go back to previous medical providers and have them search for additional records.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
4:00 pm-5:00 pm
Workshops: Choose one from the following.
A. Fibromyalgia: The Client, The Symptoms and the Law
Niki Fisher, Esq.
Greg Humphrey, Esq.
This session will focus on representing disability claimants who have fibromyalgia.
B. Subsequent Application Conundrums
Thomas Bush, Esq.
Kate Callery, Esq.
Louise Tarantino, Esq.
SSA policy permits subsequent applications while appeals are pending. Filing a new application may be straightforward enough, but it may not be so simple after that. This session will cover the circumstances under which an approval on a subsequent application will be effectuated. It will also address the ins and outs of what happens to the pending appeal if your client is approved—or disapproved—on the subsequent application. Finally, it will cover SSA’s policies concerning fees when prior and subsequent applications are involved.
C. Electronics at Your Hearing
Ø The Electronic Records Express (ERE) Today, Online Access Tomorrow
Sue Brown, eDIB Project Coordinator, SSA
John Heard, Esq.
Sue Brown and John Heard will provide an update of the Electronic Records Express, and will demonstrate the Online Access that will soon be available to all representatives. Come to learn how you can efficiently and effectively submit your client’s medical records today, and to preview the direct access to your client’s records you will have when the Online Access goes live later this year.
Ø Getting FIT for Your Hearings
Thomas Krause, Esq.
The backlog of hearings is at a record level. One way to provide better service to your client, reduce the time it takes to receive a favorable decision, and make sure you have all of the essential information on your case is to prepare a Findings Integrated Template (FIT) proposed decision. This 30 minute session will discuss the new, streamlined version of the FIT proposed decisions introduced in May 2008 as well as the previously released, more complete version. Discussion will focus on using FIT to help you prepare for the hearing and to expedite the decision.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Focus on Practice:
5:15pm-6:15pm
Focus on Practice: First Circuit
Focus on Practice: Second Circuit
Focus on Practice: Third Circuit
Focus on Practice: Fourth & DC Circuits
Focus on Practice: Eighth Circuit
Focus on Practice: Eleventh Circuit
6:20pm-7:20pm
Focus on Practice: Fifth Circuit
Focus on Practice: Sixth Circuit
Focus on Practice: Seventh Circuit
Focus on Practice: Ninth Circuit
Focus on Practice: Tenth Circuit
Thursday, May 14, 2009
7:00am-5:00pm
Conference Registration
7:30am-8:45am
Continental Breakfast
8:00am-8:30am
First Timers’ Meeting
If this is your first NOSSCR conference or if you are a new member, you are cordially invited.
8:45am-9:00am
Welcoming Remarks
Gary Parvin, Esq.
NOSSCR President
9:00am-9:45am
Marty Ford, Esq., Chair for the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD)
Ms. Ford will discuss CCD’s role in advocating on behalf of claimants and beneficiaries with disabilities before the Social Security Administration. She also will discuss current regulatory and legislative matters in which the CCD Social Security Task Force is involved.
9:45am-10:00am BREAK
10:00am-12:00noon
The Advocate’s Perspective
Nancy G. Shor, Executive Director of NOSSCR
Nancy G. Shor, Executive Director of NOSSCR, will discuss key current issues and challenges facing practitioners seeking to advocate effectively for their disabled clients. She will provide an administrative and Congressional update.
12:00noon-1:30pm
Lunch (on your own)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
1:30pm-3:00pm
Workshops: Choose one from the following.
A. Ethical Issues: Non-English Speakers, Individuals with Mental Impairments, and Cyberspace
Suzanne Fluhr, Esq.
Sanjuanita Gonzalez, Esq.
This session will explore ethical issues and responsibilities in representing non-English speakers and mentally impaired individuals. We will also consider issues arising when you hit “send” and realize that, oops, your email about the merits of your client’s case just went to OGC instead of your client.
B. Understanding and Proving Pulmonary Disability: Increasing Incidence Requires Deeper Understanding
Douglas Friedman, Esq.
Allan Goldstein, MD
Pulmonary impairments involve far more than the Listings, which are so stringent that they apply to relatively few cases that are appealed. This session will begin with a detailed explanation of the physical aspects of pulmonary impairments, followed by an evaluation of the Listings with special consideration of conditions “equivalent” to a Listing. The session will then discuss increasingly more prevalent pulmonary impairments, such as asthma, and resulting medical conditions, such as sleep apnea. You will learn the medical and legal aspects, for example, of proving how asthma and sleep apnea can be expected to limit one’s ability to sustain work. The session will be presented in an informal question and answer discussion between Dr. Goldstein and Mr. Friedman, and will include simulated medical expert testimony by Dr. Goldstein.
C. Representing Disabled Veterans for a Fee Before the Veterans Administration
Barton Stichman, Esq.
This session will focus on the nuts and bolts of representing veterans before the VA on claims for disability benefits. The discussion will include an explanation of the rules governing how much an attorney or non-attorney representative may charge as a fee, how to formally become accredited by the VA to provide representation, the criteria for entitlement to disability compensation, and the basic rules of practice and procedure at the 57 VA regional offices, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
3:00pm-3:15pm BREAK
Thursday, May 14, 2009
3:15pm-4:45pm
Workshops: Choose one from the following.
A. New Developments in Children’s SSI
Barry Eigen, Executive Program Policy Officer, Office of Disability Programs, SSA
Thomas Yates, Esq.
Barry Eigen of the Social Security Administration and Thomas Yates of Health and Disability Advocates will discuss recent changes in children’s SSI including issuance of Social Security Rulings and developments in caselaw.
B. Pain, Fatigue, Functional Impairment, and the Clinical Evaluation of Inflammatory Arthritis and Other Disorders Discussed in Social Security’s New Listings on the Immune System
Edward Treadwell, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University
Michael Glancy
Lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, pain, fatigue and functional capacity; these are a few of the topics that Professor Treadwell will discuss in this presentation on Social Security’s new Immune System Listings. Dr. Treadwell, who in addition to being a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Rheumatology, is a practicing clinician in rheumatology who conducts a clinic twice weekly and conducts research in his field. His latest research interests include Lupus and undifferentiated connective tissue disorders. In his more than 30 years of practice, Dr. Treadwell has treated thousands of patients and lectured widely on a variety of subjects in the field of rheumatology. He will guide us through an understanding of Social Security’s new Immune System Listings and discuss his research and questionnaires that enable him and other clinicians to gain more knowledge on how fatigue and pain caused by these disorders impact function.
C. Why Not Use the Vocational Expert to Prove Your Case?
Phillip George, Esq.
Rebecca Williams, Vocational Expert
Phillip George, attorney, will present ways to turn the tables and make the VE a powerful witness for the claimant. He will also discuss when hiring a vocational expert to evaluate your client can be advantageous, and will note the limitations of hiring your own vocational expert. Rebecca Williams, Vocational Expert, will present the minimum tools that all Social Security claimants’ representatives should possess to understand the vocational issues of the case and prepare the case for hearing. These same tools can be used to effectively cross-examine the vocational expert. They will also present a case study demonstrating how the VE can be the claimant’s advocate during testimony.