Paulette Balin & Associates Continues to go High-Tech!

The Social Security Administration is continuing its foray into the electronic era by making more tools and materials available online for appointed representatives. Starting August 25^th, 2012, appointed representatives now have the option of downloading the audio recordings of their client’s hearing through Appointed Representatives Services (ARS).

Over the past several months, ARS has become a helpful tool for representatives. It allows them to access electronic copies of their client’s file at any time, as well as appeal decisions. ARS can be accessed through the Business Services section of ssa.gov.

When a claim is denied by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), obtaining a recording of the hearing is vital. Usually by the time an ALJ decision is rendered, many months have passed and it is hard to remember all the details, especially if the representative has many clients and is in court several times per month. By listening to the recording of the hearing, it can help the representative make a decision as to whether to appeal. Or, if the decision was already appealed, listening to the recording can assist greatly in writing a supplemental brief to the Appeals Council.

In the past, the Appeals Council would always supply CD recordings of hearings to appointed representatives for their review. This was not a good method, however, as sometimes a CD would not be sent out, get lost in the mail, become damaged, etc.

This feature is only available for cases at the Hearings and Appeals levels that are pending, reactivated, or closed within the past 90 days. Representatives must be enrolled in ARS to gain access to this valuable tool.

As usual, Paulette Balin & Associates, LLC is staying on top of the latest innovations as SSA is introducing them. Thanks to electronic files, our office has gone practically paperless. Our attorneys use laptops and iPads in court instead of bulky paper files. We are already in the process of getting our attorneys set up to receive the audio recordings of the hearings, so our ALJ appeal process will be even more streamlined than ever. We do all this (and more) to serve our clients to the best of our ability.

As always, we stand by our motto: We do whatever it takes to win your case!

Written by Anna Westfall & edited by Attorney Andrew November

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