SSA Attorney Advisor Position Forum

[Tiredbuthappyitsover]

I have been offered a position as an SSA Attorney Advisor with the Feds. Can anyone who has worked in the SSA offer any insight on the position, opportunities for advancement, and exit strategies after the two-year term?

I am having some doubts about accepting the position given the fact that my sole duty would be excessive amounts of writing opinions. I want to gain experience writing, don't get me wrong, but I don't know if that's what I want to be doing 100% of the time. Also, I'm a little unsure about how this job would help me progress in the legal world (I'm at the beginning of my career).

Thanks!

[we'rebothmenofthelaw]

My sense from working on the other side (advocating for SSA benefits claimants) is that you can move up to ALJ from the attorney advisor role after some time (not sure how long, but as of a couple years ago there were substantial ALJ shortages, so that might help speed up the process). The work is super specific, so make sure you like reading medical records before taking this job. You might get lucky (imo) and get to do some post-eligibility work, which can he really interesting and complex, but a lot of your cases will likely be a few vocational/disease patterns that tend to lead to denials and appeals.

I have no idea about exit options. ALJs can move between agencies sometimes (VA, DOL), I wouldnt be surprised if attorney advisors were be able to as well.

Edit: I saw the two year term and realize I may be unfamiliar with the position you have the offer for. If so, feel free to disregard.

[Anonymous User]

My sense from working on the other side (advocating for SSA benefits claimants) is that you can move up to ALJ from the attorney advisor role after some time (not sure how long, but as of a couple years ago there were substantial ALJ shortages, so that might help speed up the process). The work is super specific, so make sure you like reading medical records before taking this job. You might get lucky (imo) and get to do some post-eligibility work, which can he really interesting and complex, but a lot of your cases will likely be a few vocational/disease patterns that tend to lead to denials and appeals.

I have no idea about exit options. ALJs can move between agencies sometimes (VA, DOL), I wouldnt be surprised if attorney advisors were be able to as well.

Edit: I saw the two year term and realize I may be unfamiliar with the position you have the offer for. If so, feel free to disregard.

Thank you for your advice! Greatly appreciated. I actually know the distinction you're getting at--I think you're seeing the senior SSA attorneys advocate in court. My role, Attorney Advisor, would be behind the scenes writing opinions for ALJs.

[encore1101]

My wife currently works for the SSA as an Attorney-Advisor. She's been working there for approximately 6 years now.

You are correct in that the majority of your time will be spent writing opinions. The ALJs will instruct you as to whether the claim was denied or approved, and it's your job to cite to the relevant statutes and/or regulations, cite to the record, and write a conclusion. Not unlike IRAC in law school.

Yes, it is often tedious and not that exciting. On the other hand, you have flexible hours, you can work from home for the majority of the week after your probationary period, and the pay isn't bad. As an example, my wife used to work 4x10, and enjoy a three day weekend every weekend. Additionally, you will never take work home, and aside from the tedium, it's a low stress job. If you're concerned about work/life balance, this job is weighed more heavily on the "life" side of the equation.

You can apply for "details," which are short-term (4 months or so) appointments to a supervisory or senior attorney role. If you do well, that detail may lead to a permanent position if there's one available. Otherwise, doing a detail would reflect well on your record once a permanent position opens up. It seems like it's almost mandatory, since there will be others applying for that same position who would have done a detail.

As far as exit options go, I'm sure having such a background would look favorably if you decide to be an ALJ (which anyone can apply to be after practicing 7 years, you don't need to have been an attorney advisor). Since you're exposed to a lot of social security and disability claims, you'd be marketable in that area, and general writing expertise is always helpful. If you're looking for litigation experience, however, you will be disappointed.

[we'rebothmenofthelaw]

Got it. I thinks it's interesting work, but it could get boring if it's not your thing. If you move across to the client advocacy side after the two year period, I imagine you'll have great options with anyone who does SSA work. The SSA bar, such as it is, is a really interesting hodgepodge of non-profit legal services lawyers, medmal/personal injury/subway ad types, and private attorneys with disability rights practices. I don't think this is your ticket into Biglaw, but it's a somewhat versatile credential in that it can lead to public interest, government jobs, a for-profit-but-still-socially-useful practice, and some credibility if you ever want to hang up a shingle.

[Tiredbuthappyitsover]

My wife currently works for the SSA as an Attorney-Advisor. She's been working there for approximately 6 years now.

You are correct in that the majority of your time will be spent writing opinions. The ALJs will instruct you as to whether the claim was denied or approved, and it's your job to cite to the relevant statutes and/or regulations, cite to the record, and write a conclusion. Not unlike IRAC in law school.

Yes, it is often tedious and not that exciting. On the other hand, you have flexible hours, you can work from home for the majority of the week after your probationary period, and the pay isn't bad. As an example, my wife used to work 4x10, and enjoy a three day weekend every weekend. Additionally, you will never take work home, and aside from the tedium, it's a low stress job. If you're concerned about work/life balance, this job is weighed more heavily on the "life" side of the equation.

You can apply for "details," which are short-term (4 months or so) appointments to a supervisory or senior attorney role. If you do well, that detail may lead to a permanent position if there's one available. Otherwise, doing a detail would reflect well on your record once a permanent position opens up. It seems like it's almost mandatory, since there will be others applying for that same position who would have done a detail.

As far as exit options go, I'm sure having such a background would look favorably if you decide to be an ALJ (which anyone can apply to be after practicing 7 years, you don't need to have been an attorney advisor). Since you're exposed to a lot of social security and disability claims, you'd be marketable in that area, and general writing expertise is always helpful. If you're looking for litigation experience, however, you will be disappointed.

Thanks so much! I appreciate it.

[encore1101]

My wife currently works for the SSA as an Attorney-Advisor. She's been working there for approximately 6 years now.

You are correct in that the majority of your time will be spent writing opinions. The ALJs will instruct you as to whether the claim was denied or approved, and it's your job to cite to the relevant statutes and/or regulations, cite to the record, and write a conclusion. Not unlike IRAC in law school.

Yes, it is often tedious and not that exciting. On the other hand, you have flexible hours, you can work from home for the majority of the week after your probationary period, and the pay isn't bad. As an example, my wife used to work 4x10, and enjoy a three day weekend every weekend. Additionally, you will never take work home, and aside from the tedium, it's a low stress job. If you're concerned about work/life balance, this job is weighed more heavily on the "life" side of the equation.

You can apply for "details," which are short-term (4 months or so) appointments to a supervisory or senior attorney role. If you do well, that detail may lead to a permanent position if there's one available. Otherwise, doing a detail would reflect well on your record once a permanent position opens up. It seems like it's almost mandatory, since there will be others applying for that same position who would have done a detail.

As far as exit options go, I'm sure having such a background would look favorably if you decide to be an ALJ (which anyone can apply to be after practicing 7 years, you don't need to have been an attorney advisor). Since you're exposed to a lot of social security and disability claims, you'd be marketable in that area, and general writing expertise is always helpful. If you're looking for litigation experience, however, you will be disappointed.

Thanks so much! I appreciate it.

No problem. My wife gets paid more than I do (city prosecutor), but we've come to the conclusion that my job is more rewarding and interesting. SSA is not a bad place to start -- even if you decide to do something else after two years, you're not in any worse position than you are now. You'd have more writing experience, which can only make you look better (depending on what your law school credentials look like), and two years is short enough that you won't get pigeonholed in that particular area.

I hope I didn't sound like I was crapping on it too much. It's honestly not a bad place to work if you can work through the tedium of it. Even the cases can be somewhat interesting, even if the work itself is a bit perfunctory.

Good luck!

[Tiredbuthappyitsover]

My wife currently works for the SSA as an Attorney-Advisor. She's been working there for approximately 6 years now.

You are correct in that the majority of your time will be spent writing opinions. The ALJs will instruct you as to whether the claim was denied or approved, and it's your job to cite to the relevant statutes and/or regulations, cite to the record, and write a conclusion. Not unlike IRAC in law school.

Yes, it is often tedious and not that exciting. On the other hand, you have flexible hours, you can work from home for the majority of the week after your probationary period, and the pay isn't bad. As an example, my wife used to work 4x10, and enjoy a three day weekend every weekend. Additionally, you will never take work home, and aside from the tedium, it's a low stress job. If you're concerned about work/life balance, this job is weighed more heavily on the "life" side of the equation.

You can apply for "details," which are short-term (4 months or so) appointments to a supervisory or senior attorney role. If you do well, that detail may lead to a permanent position if there's one available. Otherwise, doing a detail would reflect well on your record once a permanent position opens up. It seems like it's almost mandatory, since there will be others applying for that same position who would have done a detail.

As far as exit options go, I'm sure having such a background would look favorably if you decide to be an ALJ (which anyone can apply to be after practicing 7 years, you don't need to have been an attorney advisor). Since you're exposed to a lot of social security and disability claims, you'd be marketable in that area, and general writing expertise is always helpful. If you're looking for litigation experience, however, you will be disappointed.

Thanks so much! I appreciate it.

No problem. My wife gets paid more than I do (city prosecutor), but we've come to the conclusion that my job is more rewarding and interesting. SSA is not a bad place to start -- even if you decide to do something else after two years, you're not in any worse position than you are now. You'd have more writing experience, which can only make you look better (depending on what your law school credentials look like), and two years is short enough that you won't get pigeonholed in that particular area.

I hope I didn't sound like I was crapping on it too much. It's honestly not a bad place to work if you can work through the tedium of it. Even the cases can be somewhat interesting, even if the work itself is a bit perfunctory.

Good luck!

You didn't crap on it too much. You gave me the pros and cons. I understand what you mean and it's super helpful to get valuable information on these types of threads because it's hard to find useful information through "the official channels" (like the SSA website).

My fear was about getting pigeon-holed, so thanks for alleviating that concern. I have this offer as well as a few possible opportunities through the private sector (in the middle of interviews right now), but this is actually better paid than one of the law firms and I'd have to wait a week or two to hear back from other potential employers. I don't want to waste the SSA opportunity while waiting for something in the private sector that may or may not come through.

So I've got a lot of thinking to do!! lol.

[Tiredbuthappyitsover]

Got it. I thinks it's interesting work, but it could get boring if it's not your thing. If you move across to the client advocacy side after the two year period, I imagine you'll have great options with anyone who does SSA work. The SSA bar, such as it is, is a really interesting hodgepodge of non-profit legal services lawyers, medmal/personal injury/subway ad types, and private attorneys with disability rights practices. I don't think this is your ticket into Biglaw, but it's a somewhat versatile credential in that it can lead to public interest, government jobs, a for-profit-but-still-socially-useful practice, and some credibility if you ever want to hang up a shingle.

Thanks! I've thought about having my own practice in the future so that would be useful.

[dissenting]

I currently work at SSA. I'm not too crazy about it but I'm happy to share info about the job, good and bad. PM me if you'd like.

[kramer716]

To the OP, which office picked you up? I have applied for the Alexandria, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Lexington, and Hattiesburg openings. I haven't heard anything, so am wondering if you were picked up for one of those offices. I just would like to know where I stand.

Congratulations on getting hired. Good luck with the SSA.