Your Social Security disability hearing will be held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The proceedings are informal and non-adversarial, meaning that there is no one there to oppose you and argue against you. It is not the job of the Social Security Administration to take “sides,” but rather to provide benefits to disabled claimants. It is the job of the judge to be a neutral fact-finder and learn as much as he can about the claimant’s disability and whether that meets the standard for disability under the Social Security Act. In general, ALJs find about 60 percent of claimants who appeal disabled, though some are more difficult to convince than others.
Your disability representative will prepare before the hearing by gathering medical records and medical opinions as to your condition, and preparing witnesses to testify (if applicable), as well as preparing to examine any witnesses the ALJ might call. It is not your representative’s role, however, to treat the ALJ as an adversary, even if the judge is mistaken about something. Rather, your representative will treat the hearing as an opportunity to present an argument, tell your story, and correct any misimpressions the judge may have. A good judge will inform your representative if he has a problem with part of your story so that your representative has a chance to respond or clarify.
You have the option of appearing at your hearing in person or by video teleconferencing. The rules for evidence and deadlines for a disability hearing are considerably more lenient than they would be in a courtroom or criminal trial; evidence does not need to pass the same tests of admissibility that trial evidence does, and deadlines may be extended if you show good cause. If your disability representative fears running out of time to collect a piece of evidence, he or she might ask the ALJ for a subpoena or for additional time to collect it.