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Post by pm on Mar 12, 2009 21:23:12 GMT -5
Since many of us are going to have to be making choices about what cities to eliminate from our geographic list in the next couple of weeks, it would be helpful to get more information about some of the ODAR offices. I'm not talking about simply negative information. I'm talking about ANY comments. If Little Rock has a great HOD, tell us. If Memphis has great writers, tell us. Of course if an office has a negative issue we would like to know that too.
The problem we have had in the past is that almost no one ever wants to post comments about an office. Is there some way that ALJDiscussion or Pixie can start a thread where the responses will go directly to them, then they can relay the comments to a thread without attribution? This would provide maximum protection to the posters and allow even more anonymity to those who want to make comments. And hopefully the result would be more comments of all kinds about various offices.
Or is there any other way to get this done? It would be a big service to some of us.
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Post by lawcat on Mar 12, 2009 21:25:51 GMT -5
Any updates on Region X, Tampa or Albuquerque?
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Post by Legal Beagle on Mar 12, 2009 21:26:36 GMT -5
Good idea.
Maybe do it in the Wild Wild West where most of the posters are "guests"
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Post by ALJD on Mar 12, 2009 21:51:37 GMT -5
The problem we have had in the past is that almost no one ever wants to post comments about an office. Is there some way that ALJDiscussion or Pixie can start a thread where the responses will go directly to them, then they can relay the comments to a thread without attribution? This would provide maximum protection to the posters and allow even more anonymity to those who want to make comments. And hopefully the result would be more comments of all kinds about various offices. Or is there any other way to get this done? It would be a big service to some of us. The problem is this. Even if a registered poster send info about an office to me or Pix, we have no way of verifying it. Furthermore, even assuming the person is acting in good faith and being perfectly honest, whether an office is good or bad is a highly subjective matter. For example. There is an office I know where the HOCALJ is either a total jerk or perfectly fine depending on who you're asking. The guy is great to people who are doing their best to meet the 500-700 dispo a year, but a total hard ass to people he perceives as not pulling their weight in the office. Does that make it a good or bad office? I guess it all depends on which side of him you're dealing with. And depends on who you ask, you can get completely different answers about the state of that office. Thus, I don't want to add an aura of legitimacy to something as subjective as this. Since we may unfairly scare off people from perfectly good offices or erroneously encourage them to offices that are actually bad. Therefore, I think the thread in Wild Wild West serves its purpose just fine and it gives the appropriate weight to the information provided - which is to take it with a grain of salt and your mileage may very. ;) |
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Post by privateatty on Mar 13, 2009 8:39:09 GMT -5
ALJDiscussion and globalpanda: We will be getting our certificate notification from SSA very soon which will list the cities that we had previously selected, giving us an opportunity to delete those cities we can no longer stomach. It would be very helpful if we knew which cities needed one or more judges, thus increasing our chances if we retained those cities in our geographical preference list. Recent posts have indicated "rumors" of cities, like Atlanta, that may need one or two judges. Is there any way that we can get more comprehensive and better information?  |
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Post by valkyrie on Mar 13, 2009 8:54:57 GMT -5
This is a good idea as a "snapshot," but unfortunately we are talking about a moving target here.
First of all, we are seeing ALJs being transfered around, which could affect the dynamic of many offices. Second, the new ALJ hirings for the year could affect office dynamics as well. Some offices are as good as they are due to a talented HOD, great senior attorneys, etc., who would also make attractive candidates for new ALJs. Finally, ODAR will be hiring an enormous number of new attorneys and clerks, which could really turn around some offices that have been in disarray due to poor staffing. Lets not also forget that ODAR does not always provide staff in a logical manner, so that a formerly functional office may become ALJ overstaffed with the hiring of some of us on this board, and rapidly fall behind in its case-pulling and writing.
Some of the more technically savvy may feel like posting some of the individual office statistical rankings, assuming that posting such information is kosher. Some of the really intrepid may want to try and explain said stats to the non-ODAR people of the board. After all, anyone hired as an ODAR ALJ will live and die by these stats like the rest of us.
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Post by ssaer on Mar 13, 2009 9:10:20 GMT -5
I understand that the Seven Fields, Pa. office, located just north of Pittsburgh, has an opening due to a recent hardship transfer.
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Post by Legal Beagle on Mar 13, 2009 9:28:08 GMT -5
NOSSCR published monthly the ranking of all offices in terms of the average processing days, which may give an idea of the pressure the office is under.
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Post by northwest on Mar 13, 2009 9:44:04 GMT -5
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Post by ALJD on Mar 13, 2009 9:55:07 GMT -5
After all, anyone hired as an ODAR ALJ will live and die by these stats like the rest of us. So true. The pressure to produce has never been higher. Hopefully they'll hire enough support staff this time around.  |
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Post by barkley on Mar 13, 2009 10:15:37 GMT -5
Is there any where you can go to get the information regarding (1) how many aljs an office generally has and (2) how many remote sites an office services? I know on the SSA public web site, you can see a list of DOs an office serves, but not all DO sites support a remote hearing site. It would be nice to get an idea of the travel loads an office has.
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Post by traceb on Mar 13, 2009 10:28:58 GMT -5
This document gives a LOT of information which could be useful in an interview. I had forgotten all about the rocket docket. |
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Post by valkyrie on Mar 13, 2009 12:07:39 GMT -5
"Is there any where you can go to get the information regarding (1) how many aljs an office generally has and (2) how many remote sites an office services? I know on the SSA public web site, you can see a list of DOs an office serves, but not all DO sites support a remote hearing site. It would be nice to get an idea of the travel loads an office has."
ODAR is currently going for broke in trying to fill as many spots as possible, which is oddly enough based upon actual physcial office space. A hypothetical ODAR office could be generally set up with staffing and hearing room space to support 8 ALJs, but have 10 offices that meet the criteria for an ALJ's office. ODAR has indicated that they may just fill the extra two ALJ offices. This is based upon the rationale of creating a uniform, electronic system, with video hearing access, in which an ALJ in Atlanta hears a case that was pulled by a clerk in Nashville, and eventually written by an attorney in Tampa. Many remote sites are now covered by video hearings, with consequent decrease in travel. An office with a currently heavy travel docket could be nearly travel-free in six months.
As I noted earlier on this thread, individual office structures and dynamics are becoming a moving target.
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Post by Interested on Mar 13, 2009 13:06:28 GMT -5
Northwest and LB,
Thanks for the link to the IG report. This is excellent intel. I agree w/ ALJDiscussion Administrator that quality can be subjective and also agree w/ Valkyrie that we're facing a moving target, but the report at least gives some evidence as a base line for assessing office performance (and management's expectations). Much appreciated.
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Post by ALJD on Mar 13, 2009 15:28:11 GMT -5
The way I would approach it (if I were a candidate, and I'm not) is to take an individual city and ask myself the question, if I were offered that city tomorrow, would I accept? If the answer is yes, leave it on the list. If the answer is no, then eliminate it. It is a soul searching process that must be discussed with one's spouse before a decision is made. Pix is always good at providing sage advice. Definitely take her suggestions to heart here. ;D Absolutely get your spouse's agreement before hand or else you might rue the day (as a few of my brethren currently are... ) |
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Post by ssaer on Mar 15, 2009 14:52:23 GMT -5
A great cost of living comparison calculator is available at www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.aspThe calculator allows you to compare the cost of living in different cities, and in that way to determine just how far an ALJ salary will go in particular locations. I learned, for example, that to maintain the same standard of living in San Francisco that one now has in Birmingham (AL), one would have to receive a salary increase of 91.4%. This may be helpful to some of us in narrowing our geographic choices. |
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Post by northwest on Mar 15, 2009 16:18:40 GMT -5
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Post by alj on Mar 15, 2009 18:45:02 GMT -5
Yes, the locality pay helps some, but not too much. I was shocked at the post by ssaer above indicating the the cost of living in SF is 91% higher than in Birmingham, AL.
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