What is an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)?

An Administrative Law Judge is the person who will oversee your Social Security Disability hearing. An Administrative Law Judge does have some differences from a non-administrative judge, but they should be treated with the same respect. For example, an ALJ should still be referred to as “your honor”.

Like anyone, how an Administrative Law Judge treats you and your attorney depends on which ALJ you get for your hearing. Some judges are very kind and casual while others are more stern and strict. More importantly, some judges have very high approval rates while others tend to deny most of the claimant’s they see. It truly just depends.

An ALJ’s job is not to find a reason to deny you; rather, they look for the truth to make a decision. It is not wise to try and trick an Administrative Law Judge. They oversee dozens of Social Security Disability hearings every month so they have plenty of experience spotting those who exaggerate or embellish their disability. The ALJ has also read your entire file and has it in front of them. They may ask questions they already know the answer to just to see if you tell the truth.

Of course, a Disability attorney can be very helpful with the hearing process and helping you prepare for an Administrative Law Judge.