When putting on a disability retirement case under FERS or CSRS before the Merit Systems Protection Board, it is essential that an applicant (if unrepresented) and the attorney (if represented, the applicant need not participate in any Prehearing Conference, but will obviously encounter the Judge during the Telephone Hearing) listens to the Administrative Judge during any Pre-Hearing Conference. Most Administrative Judges are actually willing to help the appellant. While judges are unable to render legal advice or to actually lend counsel to the appellant, many administrative judges go out of their way to clearly outline for the Appellant the tools needed to persuade and win the case. Administrative Judges, for the most part, actually want to root for the appellant, and want you to put on a good case to persuade them to rule in your favor. In my opinion, an appellant should have an attorney at the Merit Systems Protection Board. At a Prehearing Conference, I listen carefully at any special concerns or comments which an Administrative Judge may make -- because such concerns are often the key to winning the case for my client. Remember -- judges are human; they want to root for the underdog; they want you to win your case.
Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire
