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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 9:56:06 GMT -5
I cannot thank Karaj and Papajudge enough for offering honest and subjective feedback regarding the job as an ALJ. Karaj's experience is what kept me from pressing the submit button for my application in March 2013. Having been a decision writer, I'm aware of the perks and pitfalls of giving up the autonomy of private practice for life as a government worker. If and when I apply for an ALJ job in the future, I will give even more serious thought to the risk of giving up a successful private practice under the assumption that the ALJ job is my "final calling," so to speak. The decision is not to be taken lightly. Sort of like walking to the altar and taking the vows for life....
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 9:56:51 GMT -5
I am happy for karaj that she is getting out after recognizing the job isn't all it's cracked up to be. An ALJ always has the option of essentially tanking the job and forcing management to jump through the administrative hurdles for removal, or they can simply half-heartedly do the job and float through existence. I sincerely applaud her professionalism. Agreed, I totally respect a professional who is secure enough to tell herself when it is time to go another route. Also agreed, that those who are not so secure but simply remain as drones in what they personally consider a horrible job are not doing any service for themselves or others who in turn may well wish to have that job.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 10:06:50 GMT -5
I watched a great scene from Boardwalk Empire last night where the judge growled at the prosecutor: "Counsel, I respect your desire to bring meaning to your life, but this courtroom is NOT the place to do it." Whether I stay in the private sector as a claimants' rep, or eventually become an ALJ, I must always remember that the meaning of my life involves my family and my dogs and long walks in the woods.
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Post by Pixie on Dec 31, 2014 10:13:52 GMT -5
To answer a question previous asked in this thread, 2 HOCALJs were recently selected for the 2014 SES Candidate Development Program. I have been told that these were the first ALJs selected to this program, but I don't have any information to verify that. Yes, they were the first selected for the program. The program was announced maybe 8 months ago. At the time, I wondered, "Why?" Still don't have an answer. Pixie.
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Post by sandiferhands (old) on Dec 31, 2014 10:29:37 GMT -5
Outstanding post papajudge , from another solo practitioner, outsider, ALJ wannabe.
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Post by Missundaztood on Dec 31, 2014 11:27:02 GMT -5
Outstanding post papajudge , from another solo practitioner, outsider, ALJ wannabe. Ditto.
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Post by Pixie on Dec 31, 2014 12:56:25 GMT -5
Sorry to bog down the discussion, but I'm an outsider and have no idea what "EBP" stands for. Why do some ODAR offices adopt EBP and others don't? (As an aside, it would be helpful if acronyms were defined upon first use.) Electronic Business Process. All offices should be using it by now. If HDQ finds out that all of the judges in an office aren't using the process, it will cause a real problem for that office. Pix.
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Post by bartleby on Dec 31, 2014 13:06:59 GMT -5
I think that a problem I have seen has to do with professionalism and ethics. These are determined on an individual basis. Some lawyers lie, cheat, and steal and claim it is okay because it is part of their "zealous" representation of their client. I have seen prosecutors and solicitors do it in the name of "securing justice" when they were so sure the defendant was guilty. In our job as an ALJ we are under immense pressure to move cases. Depending upon the quality of the support staff, the stress and pressures can increase severely. When a file hits your desk, it is your responsibility. If it is not properly worked up and management doesn't seem to care, it becomes your job to figure it out. Some offices are fantastic, others sucketh greatly. We are supposed to develop the files and to do this we should have them assigned to us ahead of time in ARPR. The case is not supposed to be scheduled for hearing until we say it is ready. That is not the way it is done in almost all offices. The Agency does not look at these regulations as they slow things down. Many Judges decide cases that are not truly developed and many repped and unrepped claimants suffer because of this. Another area is the decision writing quality varies so much. Some Judges spend hours editing decisions and others sign them without reading them. I am talking about Judges that do full well written instructions so let's not blame the editing on that. This job can be very frustrating or fairly easy, depending upon the support staff you have and your personal sense of professionalism and ethics. Many insiders really have very little idea as to what it is like to be a Judge. Some outside litigators or reps have a different perspective of professionalism and ethics so the job may seem fairly easy. Several Judges I have seen leave are excellent Judges and take the job very seriously. They have been unable to lower their idea of professionalism and ethics to remain and look at themselves in the mirror. When one of these leave, perhaps we need to stop and reflect where we are on that professionalism and ethics scale. I do not believe a person can conceivably do what we are asked to do in 2 1/2 hours. To do the numbers, we are cutting corners somewhere and most of us know it. Perhaps we need to consider if we are a "Confederacy of Dunces" as John Kennedy Toole wrote of? JMHO
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Post by bartleby on Dec 31, 2014 13:16:34 GMT -5
Pixie, our office uses parts and pieces of EBP. They do not use "To Do's or daily process EFT's" so I will find out I have a Request to Withdraw Hearing Request the week before the hearing and not six months prior when it hit the file. Same with Dire Need or on The Record requests..
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Post by hilltopper on Dec 31, 2014 13:26:16 GMT -5
"You will likely be handling these cases on your own, bogged down with burdensome clerical responsibilities, typing your own instructions, and harassed by a management that is insensitive to your plight and who will be constantly pressuring you to hear more cases, while monitoring your overdue statuses." Interesting perspective and to each their own path. For over two decades as a solo practitioner, I was 100% responsible for finding, handling, typing, processing all cases on my own, being continually bothered (sometimes harrassed by clients) who were totally insensitive to any other cases than their own, constantly pressured by federal courts to meet schedules under threat of sanctions and facing billing demands 24/7/365 with absolutely no holidays, vacation or time off. In comparison as an ALJ, this past week has been the 1st time in 20 years I have had an actual real vacation (and even more unbelievable.. being paid while off work!) with no worries about clients, calls, emails, deadlines, or most importantly office bills. When working as an ALJ, I am provided an office, furniture, supplies, phone, computer, software and clerical staff all at no cost to me. (Totally a foreign concept for a solo practitioner who who must pay out of pocket for every tiny expense). *** In other words, compared to life as a solo practitioner, being an ALJ is a refreshing breeze that lasts as long as I desire. Totally concur PPJ!! Well said!! I understand KaraJ's perspective entirely. But having come from 25 years of working at the office from 8:00 a.m. til 8:00 p.m. and then quite frequently at a desk at home till midnight, (because much of my day was spent in administration of my office staff and dealing with courts, lawyers and clients), I am much more relaxed, and am now in the second week of the first 2 week vacation I have had since graduating from law school. As a former: military service member; large (2200 billable hour) law firm associate; and, small firm owner, I like the hours and the benefits with SSA -ODAR a lot more. Sure I may be making a little less than in private practice, but I'm working fewer hours and feeling a lot more relaxed. Yes there are production demands, and management constraints, but those are present in every job I have ever had. I'm confident enough in my skills and my work ethic to take criticism from management -- with a grain of salt, understand that there are production goals, and deal/work with the inherent bureaucracy. ... Now, if only we could do away with about half to two-thirds of the mandatory VOD's (Videos On Demand - online individual training videos) I think life would be just about perfect. Good luck KaraJ - Hope you find something you really love doing - then you'll never have to work another day in your life. Your comments are great reminders to all of us that we must keep life in perspective. ht
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Post by Pixie on Dec 31, 2014 13:49:54 GMT -5
Pixie, our office uses parts and pieces of EBP. They do not use "To Do's or daily process EFT's" so I will find out I have a Request to Withdraw Hearing Request the week before the hearing and not six months prior when it hit the file. Same with Dire Need or on The Record requests.. Yes, sometimes the "little" items, such as Dire Need or OTR will come in as a letter placed on the judge's desk. Shouldn't happen this way, but all offices haven't learned to do everything electronically. I think most judges who are adept at the process would rather have the items sent to them electronically rather than be placed on their desks in paper form. Makes for fewer items slipping through the cracks. "To Dos" can mostly be ignored and are not needed if everything is given to a judge electronically in an accurate status. If necessary, the "Remarks" section in each file can tell the judge why she is receiving a particular file. Even though the electronic file has been in use for about 7 or 8 years, there are still some judges who fight it and try to get as much paper to work from as possible. And there are the ones who use EBP but hate it. They only use it because they have no choice. These two groups will be retiring as soon as they can. I think a good percentage are already gone. Pix.
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Post by hilltopper on Dec 31, 2014 14:04:37 GMT -5
Sorry to bog down the discussion, but I'm an outsider and have no idea what "EBP" stands for. Why do some ODAR offices adopt EBP and others don't? (As an aside, it would be helpful if acronyms were defined upon first use.) Electronic Business Process. All offices should be using it by now. If HDQ finds out that all of the judges in an office aren't using the process, it will cause a real problem for that office. Pix. Frankly, I am somewhat surprised that there would be any offices/Judges that are not using EBP. Since we no longer maintain paper files (except in very rare cases) the only way I can review a file in preparation for hearing, is to access my schedule through CPMS (Case Processing and Management System) and look at the F-Section medical record exhibits in eView (eView is the interface that allows authorized users to view documents [stored in DMA format - much like .pdf's] that are stored electronically). I'm "all in" on eBB (the Electronic Bench Book for judges) - with apologies to all Writers/former-writers who think it more cumbersome than prior Microsoft Word templates FIT and FIT Enhanced (Findings Integrated Template). The problem with templates is that if the manufacturer (i.e., MicroSoft) decides to go in a different direction with their software program - updating all of the various templates is cumbersome and expensive. Newer versions always have bugs that require extensive debugging - an irritating, timely and costly proposition. A wise business isolates itself from dependency on the product development whims of another, by having their own systems management software. -- hence eBB As a former software consultant, I suspect that like all systems in beta deployment, EBB will undoubtedly undergo additional changes and enhancements to provide more flexibility and capability to Judges and writers alike. For all newbies (like me) I suggest you embrace it, it is the way we are headed. ht
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Post by Pixie on Dec 31, 2014 14:11:28 GMT -5
HT: A few of the judges still print as much of a file as they can get away with and review from the printed page. And yes, the EBB is the direction of the future. Pix.
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Post by bartleby on Dec 31, 2014 14:12:17 GMT -5
Pixie, I started out as a judge in a brand new office with all new staff, no bad ODAR habits or work attitudes. I fought EBP as I didn't know what it was. My SCT walked in and said sit down and I am going to help you. Within 2 weeks I loved it. It was fully implemented and placed accountability on everyone. No surprises. When I got to my current office I turned in my standing orders and was then called into the HOCALJ office where she and the HOD explained that half the items on my standing orders would not be done in this office. These standing orders were from my first office and completely acceptable there. I looked at the HOD and HOCALJ and explained that they were not EBP compliant. It got real quiet and I was dismissed. To this day nothing has changed. I am very disappointed. Our support staff is constantly changing position and no one is accountable for anything. It really bothers me as I have been in a good office and know how much better it can be. Oh, in my office the letters don't even get put on my desk. No one looks at anything until the week before the hearing. It sucketh greatly. May you have a Blessed New Year. You have done so much for so many, including me. Thank you.
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Post by philliesfan on Dec 31, 2014 15:36:50 GMT -5
I concur with Bart about the use of EBP. In my prior office everything was pretty much in compliance with EBP. I got "to do" items regularly and checked then several times a day. However, not in my current office. I have yet to get a "to do" item, but I communicate with my clerk and my scheduler by "to do" items and remarks. In fact, I had to stop the staff from giving me paper copies of things. I would prefer to operate in full compliance with EBP.
I have been in three offices. How challenging and frustrating being an ODAR ALJ can be in many ways depends on the office staff and to some extent the management. Bart alluded to some of this, the ability of the writing staff and the staff that works up the files. The better they are the easier is the ALJ's job. In my former office I had to spend little time editing drafts. In my current office, while I spend a little more time, the drafting is still pretty good.
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Post by hilltopper on Dec 31, 2014 15:43:00 GMT -5
Pixie, *** May you have a Blessed New Year. You have done so much for so many, including me. Thank you. Hear, Hear!! I wholeheartedly concur. You and ALJD have been ever-present calming influences with much wisdom to share. Through time, others have become prolific contributors, but the tone the two of you set from the beginning, and the gentle steps you have taken along the way to maintain that judicial demeanor, has been what sets this board apart from any other resource. Through your efforts to provide a hospitable and informative resource, friendships have been formed that have carried over to training classes and then into ODAR offices. Heck ... even heated exchanges you helped to calm, culminated in strong friendships. It has been a pleasure. One day I hope I can have the pleasure of shaking your and ALJD's hand, and giving both of you a hearty "Well done" face to face. Thank you! ht
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Post by Pixie on Dec 31, 2014 17:08:01 GMT -5
Thank you for the kind words. Due to increasing responsibilities and time constraints, I had to pretty much drop off the screen for awhile. That left ALJD to do it all by himself. I am back now, and hope to help ALJD and take some of the load.
Bartleby, I am sorry to hear that your office isn't running smoothly. In the past year OCALJ has sent several memos to the HOs reminding management of the need to be EBP compliant. While there isn't much you can currently do to cause them to move in that direction, there is always the dreaded audit process. I don't know which region you are in, but most regions attempt to conduct an audit of the poorly performing offices about every two years or so. The offices that are performing up to standards aren't audited that frequently.
The audit process is thorough and comprehensive, covering items ranging from the proper placement of emergency exit signs, and fire extinguishers to the more complex areas, such as compliance with agency policy, including compliance with EBP.
During the audit, members of the audit team meet with the different groups of employees, including the judges. That is the time to express your concerns about the lack of compliance with EDP, and other areas. These discussions are normally confidential, and no names are provided to the HO management staff. The findings of the audit team are provided to management, and short comings are expected to be rectified. Follow up is frequently done.
While some don't like EDP, that is irrelevant. It is the policy of the agency, and we all are required to be policy compliant, irrespective of our personal feelings.
So my advice is to not fight management on this issue, but to make your concerns known at the appropriate time. Others may have better advice that is more effective, but my advice will keep you from getting on the wrong side of the HO management. Pix.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 17:21:12 GMT -5
The criticisms Karaj has seem to regard the system at large- or do they? Maybe this disillusioned ALJ should consider transferring to another ODAR in hopes of a more supportive environment? But that would be one less vacancy for the current register... so never mind
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Post by ALJD on Dec 31, 2014 18:49:08 GMT -5
For all newbies (like me) I suggest you embrace it, it is the way we are headed. ht HT is right on point. Like it or not, eBP and eBB are here to stay and will be an integral part of ODAR's future. For all the incoming new judges, please do your best to learn eBB at the new ALJ training because the sooner you get use to it, the easier things well be for you.
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Post by Pixie on Jan 1, 2015 8:47:18 GMT -5
For all the incoming new judges, please do your best to learn eBB at the new ALJ training because the sooner you get use to it, the easier things well be for you. Yes, very good advice. The sooner you learn it and the more you use it, the more efficient you will become with the system. Efficiency is the key to success in this agency. It may feel unwieldily in the beginning, but after working with it for a while, it will become second nature. It is truly the direction the agency is headed. Although the agency currently says eBB is not mandatory, it soon will be. Maybe a year or so down the road. Maybe a little longer; be ready. Pix.
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