Are you up to date on the latest SSA rulings that may affect your ongoing cases? Do you have the knowledge to give your clients all available benefits if they return to work while the claim is being processed? This cutting-edge legal guide will clear up some of the more confusing and treacherous aspects of the practice and help you handle more cases successfully. Order today!

1. Legislative and Case Law Update
2. Gathering Information and Filing the Claim
3. Preparing for the Hearing
4. Effective Use of Vocational Evaluations
5. At the Hearing
6. Illustrated Ethical Dilemmas in Social Security Disability Practice
7. Advanced Challenges and Opportunities

LEGISLATIVE AND CASE LAW UPDATE
8:30 - 9:15, Stacy Elizabeth Thompson

• Current and Upcoming Listings of Impairments
• New SSA Rulings
• Current Case Law
• Health Care Reform - What's to Come?

GATHERING INFORMATION AND FILING THE CLAIM
9:15 - 10:30, Stacy Elizabeth Thompson

• Spotting Red Flags in Case Selection and Initial Client Interview
• Creating an Exhaustive List of All the Documents You Will Need for the:
• Initial Claim
• Reconsideration
• Hearing
• Who is to Collect the Necessary Documentation: You or the Client?
• Lay Testimony
• Navigating Electronic Filing: Procedure, Forms, Instructions and Useful Links for Every Step of the Claims Process
• Educating Your Client on the Effect of Workers' Compensation Benefits on Social Security Disability Benefits
• Practical Tips for Obtaining Medical Records and Other Crucial Documents

PREPARING FOR THE HEARING
10:45 - 12:00, Stacy Elizabeth Thompson

• Developing a Winning Theory
• Documenting the History of the Ailment - Forms/Letters From the Medical Professionals for Physical vs. Mental Disability Claims
• Drafting the Brief and What Form/Documents Must be Submitted With It
• Other Arguments
• Preparing the Client to Testify
• The Master Checklist of the "Must-Have" Documents for the Hearing
• Know Your ALJ - What is She/He Looking for Vocationally?

EFFECTIVE USE OF VOCATIONAL EVALUATIONS
1:00 - 2:00, James D. Callahan

• Why Evaluation of the Work History and Earnings Record are Important
• Do You Need a Vocational Expert? How to Select One?
• Effective Use of Dictionary of Occupational Titles - Case Studies
• Vocational Implications of Pain and Mental Health Issues
• Building Scenarios to Showcase Vocational Expert's Opinion
• What Makes a Skill "Highly Transferable?"

AT THE HEARING
2:00 - 2:45, James D. Callahan

• Hearing Procedure and Etiquette: What Not to Do
• Maximizing Client Testimony Following the Five-Step Sequential Evaluation Process
• How to Present Hypotheticals and Cross-Examine Medical Experts and VEs
• Effective Use of Exhibits - Use References to the Records!
• Addressing Harmful Evidence
• Always Build a Record for Appeal! - What You Must Remember in the Heat of Battle

ILLUSTRATED ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY PRACTICE
3:00 - 4:00, James D. Callahan

• Attorneys' Fees Considerations in Advising Clients Who Want to Apply for Both Retirement and Disability
• Applying Rules of Discovery Equally to Both Sides - What if You Find Information That Can Ruin Your Client's Case?
• How do You Handle a Mentally Impaired Client Who Doesn't Have a Guardian?
• Confidentiality

ADVANCED CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
4:00 - 4:40, James D. Callahan

• Trial Work Period and Unsuccessful Work Attempt - Much Overlooked Opportunities for Higher Benefits
• Claimant's Lack of Sufficient Quarters
• What Can You do With a Client Who Doesn't Have an Insured Status?
• Reopening Old Applications and the "Res Judicata" Concept - When Doesn't it Apply?
• Cessation of Benefits - Is the Claimant Still Disabled?
• Appeals Council and Federal Court Proceedings Pain Standards and Legal Briefs
• Useful Resources

JAMES D. CALLAHAN is an attorney in the North Charleston law firm of Callahan Law Firm, where he practices exclusively in the areas of Social Security disability, long-term disability and disability retirement. He has lectured for National Business Institute on "Handling a Social Security Disability Case" in South Carolina, and has presented courses to other attorney and community groups. Mr. Callahan is a sustaining member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimant Representatives (NOSSCR) and is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice (member, Social Security Section), the South Carolina Association for Justice and the Federal Bar Association. He earned his B.B.A. degree from Campbell University, his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law and his M.P.A. degree from Georgia State University. He is a member and past-president of the Kiwanis Club of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and has served on homeowners' association boards of directors.

STACY ELIZABETH THOMPSON is a partner in the Columbia firm of Bluestein Nichols Thompson & Delgado, LLC, where her practice is concentrated in the area of Social Security disability. Ms. Thompson is a sustaining member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimant's Representatives (NOSSCR), and was recently elected board representative for the 4th and D.C. circuits of the NOSSCR. In addition, she is a member of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association and the Richland County Bar Association. She earned her B.A. degree in International Studies from the University of South Carolina Honors College and her J.D. and MIBS (Master of International Business Studies - Portuguese track) degrees from the University of South Carolina School of Law and the Darla Moore School of Business.

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