What does an administrative law judge do?
Administrative law judge responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real administrative law judge resumes:
- Manage a civil practice focuse primarily on representing claimants in securities arbitration proceedings.
- Conduct face to face administrative hearings for recipients of disability benefits involve in the appeals process.
- Rule on preliminary motions; issue subpoenas; receive or exclude any oral or documentary evidence offer.
- Conduct hearings and issue written decisions on appeals involving unemployment insurance entitlements and potential employer unemployment tax liability.
- Sign subpoenas; rule on admissibility of evidence, and issue written orders.
- Represent clients in business disputes as principal trial attorney and provide litigation management services to clients in federal patent infringement actions.
- Communicate with CMS, administrative law judges and all areas of Medicare.
- Keep current with significant changes in CMS policy, regulations, and precedent cases relate to assign areas of responsibilities.
- Represent and counsel ACAA in debt collection procedures and other administrativeprocedures.
Administrative law judge skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Administrative Law Judges are proficient in Administrative Law, Appeals, and Litigation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Reading skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Administrative Law Judges that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Administrative Law, 15%
Preside over municipal code enforcement proceedings conducted under applicable laws and regulations of the Illinois Administrative Law Act.
- Appeals, 9%
Conducted hearings and issued written decisions on appeals involving unemployment insurance entitlements and potential employer unemployment tax liability.
- Litigation, 6%
Increased court efficiency by organizing court documents Wrote comprehensive legal articles on Australian Criminal Code and commercial litigation
- Administrative Hearings, 6%
Conducted administrative hearings on disputed unemployment compensation claims concerning the payment or denial of benefits in accordance with Florida Statutes.
- Mediation, 5%
Presided over several thousand disputed Worker's Compensation Cases, utilizing negotiation and mediation techniques to reach binding arbitration.
- Legal Research, 5%
Conducted legal research of environmental justice issues involving siting of transmission lines.
Common skills that an administrative law judge uses to do their job include "administrative law," "appeals," and "litigation." You can find details on the most important administrative law judge responsibilities below.
Listening skills. The most essential soft skill for an administrative law judge to carry out their responsibilities is listening skills. This skill is important for the role because "judges and hearing officers evaluate information, so they must pay close attention to what is being said." Additionally, an administrative law judge resume shows how their duties depend on listening skills: "conducted in-person and telephone hearings, listened to oral arguments, interpreted the facts and applied the law as necessary. "
Reading skills. Many administrative law judge duties rely on reading skills. "judges and hearing officers must be able to distinguish important facts from large amounts of sometimes complex information and then evaluate the facts objectively.," so an administrative law judge will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways administrative law judge responsibilities rely on reading skills: "united states district court for the eastern district of pennsylvania reading, pennsylvania law clerk"
Writing skills. administrative law judges are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to administrative law judge responsibilities, because "judges and hearing officers write recommendations and decisions on appeals and disputes." An administrative law judge resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "completed legal research and writing projects for the judge. "
The three companies that hire the most administrative law judges are:
- Indiana State Police2 administrative law judges jobs
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Compare different administrative law judges
Administrative law judge vs. Appeals officer
A hearing officer is sometimes also known as an administrative law judge. They are an officer of the law in charge of legal processes in courts. They settle administrative disputes, settle negotiations between opposing parties, issues legal decisions, and conduct pretrial hearings. They are also responsible for researching legal issues, which includes reading through documents like motions, claim applicants, etc. Extensive experience in law is required for this position.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an administrative law judge are more likely to require skills like "administrative law," "evidentiary hearings," "workers compensation," and "legal issues." On the other hand, a job as an appeals officer requires skills like "irs," "court decisions," "irm," and "medicare advantage." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Appeals officers tend to reach higher levels of education than administrative law judges. In fact, appeals officers are 7.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 21.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Administrative law judge vs. Unemployment claims adjudicator
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that administrative law judge responsibilities requires skills like "administrative law," "litigation," "mediation," and "legal research." But an unemployment claims adjudicator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "ui," "one-stop," "bps," and "reemployment services."
Unemployment claims adjudicators earn higher levels of education than administrative law judges in general. They're 5.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 21.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Administrative law judge vs. Hearing examiner
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an administrative law judge is likely to be skilled in "litigation," "mediation," "evidentiary hearings," and "workers compensation," while a typical hearing examiner is skilled in "relevant evidence," "settlement agreements," "due process rights," and "legal analysis."
Hearing examiners typically earn similar educational levels compared to administrative law judges. Specifically, they're 3.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 5.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Administrative law judge vs. Hearing officer
Even though a few skill sets overlap between administrative law judges and hearing officers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an administrative law judge might have more use for skills like "administrative law," "litigation," "administrative hearings," and "mediation." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hearing officers require skills like "due process," "social security," "law enforcement," and "rehabilitation. "
Hearing officers enjoy the best pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $64,393. For comparison, administrative law judges earn the highest salary in the manufacturing industry.In general, hearing officers hold similar degree levels compared to administrative law judges. Hearing officers are 3.5% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 18.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of administrative law judge
Updated January 8, 2025
