Agenda and Materials for Thursday, 10/27/16:

TIME FUNCTION TITLE PRESENTER/SPEAKER MODERATOR ROOM 7:00 AM Light Breakfast Pacific C

8:00 AM Breakout

Dashboard/eBB

Don Nguyen, ODAR/OESSI/DES

Hon. William Clark Hon. Peter Valentino

Pacific D

Breakout

Retirement Basics and the

Law

Denny Witkin Federal Benefit Specialist

Hon. Michelle

Marcus

Pacific A & B

Breakout

LexisNexis Focused Research

Lexis-Nexis Research Specialists

Marie Kaddell MLS, MBA Government Solutions Consultant

Coast West Ballroom

9:00 AM General Session

Our Military Veterans: Understanding the VA rating system and VA records. Review of 20 CFR 404.1504 & 416.904 and SSR 06-03p

Panel Members: Hon. Kevin Foley Hon. Jessica Pugrud Wade Duchene Decision Review Officer, Appeals Team VA Regional Office, San Diego

Hon. Carol Moore Pacific Ballroom A & B

10:30 AM Break Pacific C

10:45 AM General Session

Technology Tips for the Productive Judge

Hon. Jason C. Earnhart

Hon. Peter J. Martinelli Pacific Ballroom

A & B

12:00 Noon

Awards Luncheon

Presentation of Scholarships

Scholarship Recipients: Trinity Daniel, Thomas Jefferson

School of Law Sara Ebert, CA Western School of Law

Tracey Plata, USD School of Law

Hon. Linda Stagno

Loma Vista Terrace

1:00 PM General Session

The Computerized Medical Records: 11,000 Pages and Counting -- HALLEX I-2-8-20 / Submission of Medical Evidence

Hon. Michael Brownfield

Hon. Glynn Voisin

Hon. Jennifer Horne Pacific Ballroom A & B

2:45 PM Break Breakouts -- by Last Name:

3:00 PM Breakout Sessions

Continuation of the 1:00 PM session in Breakout sessions, and: - - Improving ODAR and the Adjudicative Process – Ideas from the Field

1. Hon. Michael Blume ● Hon. Michael Brownfield A, B,C

2. Hon. George Evans ● Hon. Robert C. Dorf D, E, F,G

3. Hon. Mark Brown ● Hon. William Clark H, I, J, K

4. Hon. Michelle Marcus ● Hon. Peter Martinelli L, M, N

5. Hon. Carol Moore ● Hon. Caroline Siderius O ,P, Q, R, S

6. Hon. Glynn Voisin ● T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

Hon. Jessica Pugrud (1) Pacific A/B

(2) Pacific D

(3) Embarcadero

(4) Coast East

(5) Coast West

(6) Port- hole

3:45 PM Return to General Session

4:00 PM to 4:30 PM

General Session

Improving ODAR and the Adjudicative Process

Same as above Hon. Jessica Pugrud

Pacific Ballroom A & B

Have a safe journey home and we will see you at our 2017 National Educational Conference. Hon. Peter Valentino, Conference Chair

Conference Educational Committee Hon. Jason Earnhart, Technology Director Hon. Kevin Foley, Program Chair Hon. Michelle Marcus, Deputy Chair Hon Linda Stagno, Scholarship Chair Hon. Peter J. Valentino, AALJ Conference Chair

CLE Committee Hon. James Carletti, CLE Committee, Chair Hon. Andrew Verne, CLE Committee, Assistant

Demonstration of the New ALJ Home Page

The CPMS ALJ home page is a customizable dashboard that displays real time data giving an overview or snapshot of the

ALJ’s various workloads. It will allow an ALJ to make better decisions on how to manage her/his time, quickly access the

tools to complete tasks, and significantly improve efficiency in processing hearing requests. The page will display

information for cases in various stages of the hearings processes. The resources section will display a BMI calculator, age

calculator, and links to various FIT templates and webpages. The workload summary section will contain statuses for all

cases assigned to the ALJ. Clicking any of the statuses will take the ALJ to a new individualized workload listing of the

cases for that status. In addition, the dashboard will have an abbreviated version of the monthly calendar for scheduled

hearings. The application will be piloted on January 16, 2017.

***********************************************************************************************

DON NGUYEN

**************************************************************************************************

Don Nguyen joined the Social Security Administration in 1999 as a Title 16 Claim Representative. After 3 years, Don went

on to serve as a Disability Examiner in the Disability Quality Branch and then as an Information Technology Specialist in

the Office of Quality Review.

Don currently serves as a Special Projects Officer in the Division of Electronic Services in the Office of Disability

Adjudication and Review (ODAR). In this role he is responsible for identifying ways of improving the disability hearings

process. He is currently working on the development and implementation of several initiatives including the new ALJ

Homepage.

HON. WILLIAM F.CLARK, BALTIMORE ODAR

AALJ Vice President for Region 3 (Washington D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania,

Virginia)

Judge Clark took his B.A. degree from the University of Virginia, where he majored in American Government, in 1970.

He then attended the University of Maryland Law School, graduating with his J.D. degree in May, 1974, and was

admitted to the Maryland Bar later that year. Judge Clark’s professional experience includes approximately nine years

as Manager of the Employer-Employee Relations component of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

(DHMH), within its Personnel Administration, both deciding grievances and disciplinary actions as designee of the

Department Secretary and prosecuting employees and defending the agency in the final step of the codified Merit

System appeal process. He then served for about six years as the Department’s Chief Hearing Examiner, presiding over

contested case hearings involving environmental matters, nursing home licensure issues, Medicaid appeals, involuntary

commitment hearings of persons to mental health facilities, and various other disputes. In 1987, Maryland’s Governor

appointed Judge Clark as chair of his Task Force on Administrative Hearings, which resulted in legislation that combined

almost all of Maryland’s separate hearing offices and their hearing examiners into one unified Office of Administrative

Hearings (OAH). With the absorption of his DHMH office into OAH, Judge Clark became Director of Operations and

Executive Administrative Law Judge in charge of the 71 Maryland ALJs, along with responsibility for the administration of

diverse types of hearings involving about 17 State agencies. He resigned from that office when offered an ALJ position

by SSA in 1994, with his first duty station being Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he served for just over two years. He

then transferred to the Baltimore ODAR, and was the Local Area Representative for AALJ in Baltimore for at least ten

years. He currently is Vice President of the AALJ/IFPTE for Region 3, is Membership Chair, and also is Chair of the Joint

Technology Advisory Committee. He also is a member of the Technology-Website, Legislative, Public Relations, and

National Bargaining Committees, and is a regular participant at Labor-Management meetings and Forum meetings held

with upper management official of ODAR. He is one of only three AALJ officers to serve as negotiators on changes and

additions to the AALJ Collective Bargaining Agreement. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the

Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference (FALJC) since April 2012, and has served on FALJC’s ad hoc committee to

draft Federal legislation to remove ALJ hearings from agencies to consolidate them into a single Federal office.

Hon. Peter J. Valentino, 2016 AALJ Conference Chair

Judge Valentino is an Administrative Law Judge. He has over 29 years’ experience in presiding over hearings

and issues decisions on behalf of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the largest administrative judicial

systems in the world. With the full support of the NEB, Judge Valentino, served as the first chair of this

conference over 24 years ago. He is currently the conference chair and has served in that capacity for a total of

12 years. He also founded and is a strong supporter of the AALJ Scholarship Fund, which provides

scholarships for worthy law students interested in going into Public Interest Law.

Judge Valentino's experience is not limited to the AALJ Educational Conference and his current position as

AALJ Treasurer. He also served on the AALJ negotiating team in 2000, which negotiated our first collective

bargaining agreement with the Agency, and has represented AALJ as a trainer for New Judges. In addition, he

has served as AALJ Executive Vice-President, Region 9 Vice-President and LAR in the San Diego Hearing

Office. During the past four years, he has served as a member of the AALJ Labor-Management Committee and

the Labor-Management FORUM.

Other Professional Experience

Trial Law Practice, Chicago, Both State and Federal Courts.

Employed 5 years as Supervising Accountant, City of Chicago, Water Utility Accounting Office.

Supervised staff of 15 accounting personnel.

Education and Bar Memberships

Judge Valentino is a native of Chicago where is earned an MBA degree with an emphasis on accounting and

finance and is a graduate of John Marshal University Law School. He was admitted to practice before the

United States Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Judicial Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal

Circuit, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court.

Judge Valentino is a member of the Illinois Bar Association and California Bar Association

Personal

Judge Valentino resides in Coronado, California, with his wife, Dr. Jan Yanda.

ALJ Conference Presents

We are pleased to welcome our guest speaker Ms. Denny Witkin who is a Federal Benefits Specialist in San Diego. She will be presenting the FERS and CSRS retirement systems. The following subjects will be covered:

*Eligibility for Retirement *Primary Factors Affecting your Annuity *Annuity Computations *Military Time and Creditable Time *Survivor Benefits *Federal Employee Group Life *TSP

(POWERPOINT SLIDES PROVIDED IN SEPARATE PDF FILES)

Biography of Denny Witkin

2016

Denny Witkin is a specialist in CSRS and FERS retirement systems. She has been helping Federal employees for

over 10 years to understand their benefits and to make sound choices that influence their financial success in

retirement.

She has provided and continues to provide retirement training workshops to Federal Employees at the two

Naval Hospitals in San Diego and Camp Pendleton, at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, Army Recruitment

Headquarters, Mission Viejo and has also taught special groups in San Diego and Barstow. She also provides

assistance with processing retirement forms and holds a Notary license.

Ms. Witkin graduated with a Master’s degree in Architecture in 1978 and immigrated from South Africa to the

US in 1979 where she developed, along with her partner, a company providing Architecture and Planning

services. Her interest in people and planning drew her into the Federal benefits arena in 2005 when she began

working with a local company providing retirement training in San Diego.

In May 2014, Ms. Witkin began developing her own company, Select Civil Service Benefits, Inc. and teaching

materials which incorporates slides, workbooks and proprietary software to produce analysis and benefit

reports. She is able to produce annuity estimates and analysis to illustrate why it can be beneficial to purchase

either retired or active military time.

Ms. Witkin strives to make her teaching materials accessible, user friendly and easy to understand. She

believes in empowering people to take control of their long or short term retirement plans.

Marie Kaddell

Marie Kaddell is a Government Solutions Consultant at LexisNexis, supporting users in federal

government accounts. She also acts as the peer resource for federal government librarians across

the country. She was a library director for a major law firm before coming to LexisNexis. Prior to

that she was a reference librarian at the same firm where she performed extensive legal, business

and economic, and general reference and research.

She authors the Government Info Pro Blog and is the founding editor of Best Practices for

Government Libraries. Marie is a past President of DC/SLA and past SLA Division of Government

Information Chair. She is a national and local speaker on library topics including library trends,

government librarianship, and social media strategies. Marie is a 2014 Women in Technology

Annual Leadership Award finalist. She has an M.L.S., M.S. in Technology Management, and M.B.A.

Her undergraduate degree is in economics.

HON. MICHELLE MARCUS

Judge Marcus received her undergraduate degree at SUNY Binghamton and her law degree at the Albany Law School of

Union University, where she was on law review. After law school, she worked in NYC for the firm of Mudge Rose Guthrie

Alexander & Ferdon. After leaving the city in 1991, she started representing claimants before the Social Security

Administration. During her years in private practice she gave presentations and lectures on the disability process to the

public, attorneys and medical professionals. In 2008 she joined SSA as an administrative law judge and soon thereafter

joined the AALJ. She soon became the LAR in her Albany, NY hearing office. She was elected as Vice President of Region

II earlier this year.

(Screenshots of powerpoint presentation below --- original powerpoint file is included

separately in materials)

Hon. Kevin F. Foley

Judge Foley has been an SSA Administrative Law Judge since June, 1995. He has spent all of these 21 years in the

Charlotte, North Carolina, Hearing Office.

Judge Foley is a 1982 magna cum laude graduate of the New England School of Law. Prior to starting law school, and

after graduating from the University of Maine, Judge Foley spent three years on active duty in the Marine Corps.

Judge Foley is the author of the text book, Malingering and Deception in Litigation, which was available for several years

in the Loislaw computerized legal research database.

JUDGE JESSICA HAYES PUGRUD

Judge Pugrud has over thirty years’ experience as an attorney and administrative law judge. She holds a B.A. in sociology

from the University of Rhode Island, and a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law. She was first admitted to the

Bar in New Mexico, and started practice as an assistant district attorney in Clovis, New Mexico. After two years she

switched sides and became an assistant public defender, before joining the Air Force as a judge advocate. Her

assignments took her to Missouri, Turkey, Spain, and southern and northern Virginia, with a stop in Charlottesville,

Virginia, at the Army JAG School, to obtain an LL.M. in military law (government contracts). She then dealt with

multimillion-dollar government contract litigation until leaving the Air Force after 12 years. She served as a law clerk in

the US Court of Federal Claims, then became assistant general counsel at the Defense Contract Audit Agency. While

there, she was selected as an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration, where she has served in

Billings, Montana, for the past eleven years. She has been admitted to practice law in New Mexico and Montana, as well

as various military and federal courts, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

(Scholarship recipient biographies are provided in separate files in the materials)

(Tech Tips PDF materials provided in separate file)

Hon. Jason C. Earnhart

Administrative Law Judge, Columbus ODAR jason.earnhart@ssa.gov

Judge Earnhart hails from the tiny township of Hartford, Ohio, located about halfway between Cleveland, Ohio

and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate, cum laude, of the University of Michigan, and holds a

bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature. He attended law school at Case Western Reserve

University School of Law, and worked his way through school as a distinguished stadium vendor for the

Cleveland Indians baseball club—appearing as an extra in “The Drew Carey Show,” and also in a speaking role

in PBS’ acclaimed documentary, “A Hot Dog Program.”

Judge Earnhart is licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio and in the United States District Court for the

Northern District of Ohio since 1999. Following licensure, Judge Earnhart entered private practice, specializing

in bankruptcy and civil law. For six years, Judge Earnhart also served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in

Trumbull County, Ohio He specialized in civil counseling and litigation for local governmental agencies. In

2007, Judge Earnhart was appointed a magistrate in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas. As a

Magistrate, Judge Earnhart presided over contested civil bench trials, conducted countless pre trial hearings,

mediated thousands of contested disputes, and authored over one thousand bench decisions for the court. Judge

Earnhart also was unanimously elected to serve a two year term as President of the Trumbull County Bar

Association.

Judge Earnhart was appointed by Social Security Administration to the position of Administrative Law Judge in

September of 2014. He spent the first 7 months of his appointment in Valparaiso, Indiana ODAR. Since May

of 2015, Judge Earnhart has served as an ALJ in the Columbus, Ohio, ODAR, where he issued over 500

dispositions in Fiscal Year 2015-2016, his first full year of service. In March of 2016, Judge Earnhart was

elected by his fellow AALJ member judges as L.A.R. Judge Zahm then appointed Judge Earnhart to the AALJ

Education Conference Committee, where he serves as Technical Director.

Judge Earnhart is married to his wife, Patti, and they live in Dublin, Ohio, with no children.

HON. PETER J. MARTINELLI

PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS: Admitted to New York State Bar - April, 1979 (In Good Stand-ing - retired status);

Admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Western Dis-trict of New York - May 1979;

Admitted to Pennsylvania State Bar - October, 1978 (inactive status). Selected to serve, and certified as Interest

Based Bargaining Facilitator for Social Security Admin - OHA - Region IX - August, 1999/March, 2000; Twice

served as Reviewing Judge for Quality Assurance Review Program.

LEGAL EXPERIENCE: 10/28/96 to Present: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE

Social Security Administration - Office of Disability Adjudication and Review; Served as HEARING OFFICE CHIEF

from September 2000 thru May 2005.

6/11 to 2/16: Regional Vice President of the Association of Administrative Law Judges, IFPTE – AFL/CIO.

2009 to present: Local Association Representative for Springfield, MA Hearing Office.

5/91 to 11/96: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REFEREE (ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE) - New York State

Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board

12/89 to 5/91: SENIOR ATTORNEY (LITIGATION) - New York State Dept. of Tax & Finance

11/88 to 12/89: PRIVATE PRACTICE – Western New York

12/81 to 11/88: CHIEF - CIVIL & FAMILY SERVICES - The Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc.,

1/80 to 12/81: STAFF ATTORNEY (PART TIME) - Chautauqua County Legal Services, Inc.

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE:

11/78 to 8/79: SENIOR CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR - Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

12/74 to 10/78: MANAGER OF CUSTOMER ACCOUNTING - Bay State Milling Company

ADJUNCT TEACHING EXPERIENCE: 9/85 to 5/00: Central California College, School of Law; University of Phoenix;

Villa Maria College of Buffalo; State University of New York at Buffalo; Medaille College; Hilbert College;

Schenectady County Community College.

FULL TIME TEACHING EXPERIENCE: 8/79 to 12/81: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR - State University of New York,

College @ Fredonia.

EDUCATION: The New England School of Law, Boston, MA, JD conferred cum laude – 1978; The State University

of New York @ Buffalo, School of Management, BS-Business Administration conferred with departmental

honors – 1971; Concentrations: Industrial & Labor Relations and Accounting.

BIOGRAPHY OF JUDGE LINDA A. STAGNO

Judge Linda A. Stagno has been a United States Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration for 19 years. When the Association of Administrative Law Judges (AALJ) unionized in 2000, she became the LAR (Local Area Representative) for the Brooklyn Hearing Office. In 2004 she became the LAR for the Jericho (Long Island ) Hearing Office. She served as a Designated Representative in 2006. In 2010 Judge Stagno became a member of the AALJ National Executive Board (NEB) as the Vice President for the New York Region (R2).

As a member of the NEB, Judge Stagno was a member of the AALJ Contract Bargaining Team from

2010-2012. She has also been a member of the Health and Safety Committee, Public Relations Committee, Legislative Committee and Litigation Committee. In 2014 Judge Stagno chaired the Educational Committee for the Savannah Conference as well as the Legislative Committee. Judge Stagno is currently the chair of the Legislative Committee.

Prior to her appointment as a US ALJ, Judge Stagno served as an ALJ for the City of New York

Commission on Human Rights and as a Hearing Examiner for the New York City Board of Education. Judge Stagno also served as Associate Appellate Counsel for the Criminal Appeals Bureau of The Legal Aid Society of NYC and litigated in private practice.

Judge Stagno has a BA in English (cum laude) from the University of Rochester, studied at The

University of Sussex (UK) and received a JD from Brooklyn Law School.

I. INTRODUCTION

Hon. Michael Brownfield Hon. Glynn Voisin Hon. Jennifer Horne

(POWERPOINT PRESENTATION PROVIDED IN SEPARATE FILE)

II. PURPOSE OF THE SESSION – GUIDED BRAINSTORMING AND COMPUTERIZED MEDICAL RECORD OVERVIEW TO SET UP THE NEXT SESSION: IMPROVING ODAR AND THE ADJUDICATIVE PROCESS: IDEAS FROM THE FIELD

A. ASSUMPTIONS:

1. System needs a tune-up

Larger case files

+ Decreasing number of ALJs

1.2 million cases pending

2. We can’t “hire our way out” of this – so how else can we effectively address our increasing workload?

B. PROPOSED CHANGES

1. SSA PROCESS CHANGES

a. More detailed review of cases at the initial level so cases that can be paid are paid b. Eliminate reconsideration c. Render cases at the appellate level d. Restrict payment continuation while CDRs pending

2. ODAR PROCESS CHANGES

a. Development

1. The Boston rule 2. HIT MER 3. Best practices for dealing with DDS vocational information

b. Case processing

1. NAT 2. Pre-hearing conferences

3. Pre-hearing reviews 4. DWIs, including the new HALLEX and Judge Bice’s 6/16 memo 5. Eliminate the AC

3. SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES

a. Definition of disability – should be similar to workers’ comp “two-tiered” system: temporary disability; permanent disability

b. Redefine Child Disability, including how payment is made c. Updates to the Listings, GRIDs, and DOT

4. OTHER IDEAS FOR CHANGE

a. Increased role for SAAs? b. Hire more ALJs?

III. WRAP UP

Glynn F. Voisin

Administrative Law Judge

New Orleans Hearing Office

Office of Disability Adjudication and Review

Social Security Administration

Judge Glynn F. Voisin is a graduate of Nicholls State University in 1970 and of Tulane University School of

Law in 1977. He successfully completed requirements at the National Judicial College for Administrative Law

in Fair Hearings, Judicial Writing and Ethics in 1992 and 1996. Judge Voisin is also a graduate of Louisiana

State University Public Management Program with a Certificate of Supervisory Techniques and as a Certified

Public Manager in 1998.

Judge Voisin has served as a Terrebonne Parish assistant district attorney, a Terrebonne Parish chief indigent

defender, a Louisiana assistant attorney general and 12 years as a Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Judge. He

has also served as an adjunct instructor for Nicholls State University and Tulane University. In 2004, he retired

as a Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Judge.

Judge Voisin has served 28 years in the United States Marine Corps Reserve with four years of active duty and

24 years of reserve duty, including Vietnam and Desert Storm tours. In 1997, he retired from the Marine Corps

Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel.

In 2004, Judge Voisin was appointed an administrative law judge (ALJ). Since 2004, Judge Voisin has served

as a Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, administrative law judge.

As an administrative law judge, he has served in various leadership roles. From November 2004 to April 2005,

he served as Chief Administrative Law Judge in the Jackson, MS Hearing Office which was a pilot office for

electronic Disability Program (eDib). From May 2005 to September 2013, Judge Voisin has served as Chief

Administrative Law Judge for the New Orleans, LA Hearing Office. Under his leadership, the New Orleans

Hearing Office received 2008, 2009 and 2010 Chief Administrative Law Judge Citations for excellent

management skills and outstanding effort. He also served in expanded leadership roles, and from January 2006

to May 2006, he served as Acting Chief Administrative Law Judge for Metairie, LA Hearing Office; and from

September 2007 to January 2008, he served as Acting Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge for the

Philadelphia, PA Region, Region 3. For his service as Acting Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge, Judge

Voisin received Office of Disability Adjudication and Review Certificate of Recognition.

Judge Voisin has served as speaker, presenter, panel member, breakout leader or participant at local, regional,

national and international conferences. Since 2006, Judge Voisin has served periodically with the Office of

Personnel Management (OPM) in interviewing administrative law judge (ALJ) applicants, and with Social

Security Administration (SSA) / Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) in interviewing ALJ

applicants and instructing and mentoring new ALJs and interns; as a presenter and panel member for national

educational conferences for experienced federal ALJs; and as a guest speaker and panel member for outreach

programs for local, state, regional, national and international disability-related organizations, bar associations,

claimants’ representatives’ organizations, law students’ organizations and others. Judge Voisin has also served

as the Regional Lead new ALJ Mentor for the Dallas Region as well as one of the new ALJ mentors on the

National ALJ Mentoring Cadre. He also serves as one of the electronic bench book subject matter experts on the

National Electronic Bench Book (eBB) workgroup and serves as one of the national eBB ALJ instructors /

mentors on the National Electronic Bench Book (eBB) Team. Additionally, Judge Voisin has served on the

National ODAR/Field Office Co-location Workgroup.

In 2004, Judge Voisin received a concurrent legislative resolution from the Louisiana House and Senate as

commendation for years of outstanding service as a Workers’ Compensation Judge, and in 2007, he received a

Bronze Service Award in recognition of his years of service to the United States Government. In 2010, Judge

Voisin was selected as a Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation (LBF) of the Louisiana State Bar Association

(LSBA) for his dedication to the administration of justice. In 2013, Judge Voisin received Martindale-Hubbell’s

Commemoration and Recognition for his 35 Year Anniversary of his Admission to the Bar. In 2013, 2014 and

2015, he received Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Ratings of AV Preeminent 5.0 which is the highest

possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards reflecting the confidential opinions of members of the

bar and the judiciary.

For his years of honorable service with the United States Marine Corps Reserve, Judge Voisin received two

Presidential Certificates of Appreciation for Service in the Armed Forces of the United States and the Louisiana

Veterans Honor Medal. He is also entitled to the following awards in order of precedence: Navy Achievement

Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation awarded to Fourth Marine Division for service during the period of

August 1, 1990 to June 30, 1991, Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal with four bronze stars, National

Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze star, Military

Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with one bronze star, Armed Forces

Reserve Medal with one Gold Hourglass and bronze 'M' for mobilization during 1990-1991, Republic of

Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Color with palm and frame), Republic of Vietnam

Meritorious Unit Citation (Civil Action Color with palm and frame) and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Additionally, Judge Voisin was awarded the Cold War Medal and Cold War Certificate of Recognition.

Hon. Jennifer Horne

JENNIFER HORNE is the Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge for Region IX ODAR’s 23

hearing offices. Judge Horne has also served as the Acting Regional Chief Administrative Law

Judge for Region IX, the Assistant Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge for Region IX, and

as the Hearing Office Chief Administrative Law Judge for the San Francisco Hearing

Office. Prior to her appointment as an Administrative Law Judge in July 2011, Judge Horne had

served the agency since 2001 as, variously, an Attorney Advisor, Senior Attorney Advisor, and

Regional Attorney for Region IX. Judge Horne came to the agency after several years as an

Attorney with Legal Services of Northern California, representing low-income clients in cases

involving Social Security, CalWORKs, General Assistance, Medi-Cal, Unemployment Benefits,

and housing issues.