One of the most important steps in appealing a denial of disability benefits is going to a hearing with a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ).
This is a rare chance to personally explain your story and your reasons for needing benefits directly to a key Social Security decision maker.
At your hearing, your lawyer and the judge will discuss legal details, the judge will ask you questions about your health problems and inability to work, vocational or medical experts could testify about your case, and your lawyer could question them.
Typically there are only a few people in the meeting, and most hearings are short—less than an hour.