Board of Veterans Appeals (Attorney Advisor)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people think will happen with RTO for attorneys who aren’t within 50 miles of DC or for those of us working remotely more than 50 miles of DC? Is remote work dead? If they’re going to increase the quota without union protections & with more rigorous check ins (the union has told us of these plans over the past few years so it’s not really speculation as they now have the opportunity) with the loss of remote work or having the get ready & commute back & forth everyday, potentially long distances — I don’t see how this will be sustainable for attorneys or judges, even for the quickest or the best. We’ll be commuting & working all day. If we can’t work from home, we’ll have to work unpaid overtime at the office. Completely unsustainable.

The administration declared remote work does not exist so they are going to fire anyone who can't report to an office. Things like the effect on veterans services don't factor into any of these firing decisions.

Not at BVA. We are not currently reporting to the office because there is no space. Theree are managers and a few attorneys at 425 Eye St, but most people are remote.

so I oftened wondered where all the lawyers work.

now I know.

I still don't know what they actually do. Seems to me just fire 50% and see what happens. I have never met a lawyer yet that could run a business.

At BVA, we review thousands of pages of medical documents each week and copy and paste boilerplate language into three decision templates. Yes, most of us can’t run a business or litigate a case (unless moot court counts). Guilty as charged!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people think will happen with RTO for attorneys who aren’t within 50 miles of DC or for those of us working remotely more than 50 miles of DC? Is remote work dead? If they’re going to increase the quota without union protections & with more rigorous check ins (the union has told us of these plans over the past few years so it’s not really speculation as they now have the opportunity) with the loss of remote work or having the get ready & commute back & forth everyday, potentially long distances — I don’t see how this will be sustainable for attorneys or judges, even for the quickest or the best. We’ll be commuting & working all day. If we can’t work from home, we’ll have to work unpaid overtime at the office. Completely unsustainable.

The administration declared remote work does not exist so they are going to fire anyone who can't report to an office. Things like the effect on veterans services don't factor into any of these firing decisions.

Not at BVA. We are not currently reporting to the office because there is no space. Theree are managers and a few attorneys at 425 Eye St, but most people are remote.

so I oftened wondered where all the lawyers work.

now I know.

I still don't know what they actually do. Seems to me just fire 50% and see what happens. I have never met a lawyer yet that could run a business.

What they do is decide appeals from all over the country.

Why are you interested in the agency? Do you have a case at VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BVA work is easily transferable to SSA disability, workers comp, and areas of law that require knowledge of medical issues. There is also entry level legal work, which would not require prior experience.

You could also hang your own shingle and go for CAVC work and EAJA fees. You would win 9/10 cases just being average and probably more with substantial BVA experience. The only hard part is getting clients, but there are certainly a lot of veterans who could use representation.

Strongly recommend avoiding SSA disability right now. Love, from SSA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BVA work is easily transferable to SSA disability, workers comp, and areas of law that require knowledge of medical issues. There is also entry level legal work, which would not require prior experience.

You could also hang your own shingle and go for CAVC work and EAJA fees. You would win 9/10 cases just being average and probably more with substantial BVA experience. The only hard part is getting clients, but there are certainly a lot of veterans who could use representation.

Strongly recommend avoiding SSA disability right now. Love, from SSA.

+1

If you’re going to leave get the hell out of government.

[Anonymous]

I can’t see any Board attorneys being replaced by AI simply because nobody in leadership will want to explain to Congress why veterans’ hard-earned benefits are being denied by robots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people think will happen with RTO for attorneys who aren’t within 50 miles of DC or for those of us working remotely more than 50 miles of DC? Is remote work dead? If they’re going to increase the quota without union protections & with more rigorous check ins (the union has told us of these plans over the past few years so it’s not really speculation as they now have the opportunity) with the loss of remote work or having the get ready & commute back & forth everyday, potentially long distances — I don’t see how this will be sustainable for attorneys or judges, even for the quickest or the best. We’ll be commuting & working all day. If we can’t work from home, we’ll have to work unpaid overtime at the office. Completely unsustainable.

The realistic and dispassionate prediction is that there will be waves of resignations as employees reach the limit of their tolerance for deteriorating working conditions. That's what the highest level of leadership wants (they've been explicit about that). I really don't think it's what local leadership wants. We'll see who wins out in the next couple of months.

Be realistic. Where would BVA attorneys go after they resign? VA disability law isn’t exactly transferable to in demand legal specialties.

LOL, I told one acquaintance I may be looking for a change and have had a few texts from local firms. Many of us had other careers before the Board (including, *gasp*, litigation!). Get real, troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people think will happen with RTO for attorneys who aren’t within 50 miles of DC or for those of us working remotely more than 50 miles of DC? Is remote work dead? If they’re going to increase the quota without union protections & with more rigorous check ins (the union has told us of these plans over the past few years so it’s not really speculation as they now have the opportunity) with the loss of remote work or having the get ready & commute back & forth everyday, potentially long distances — I don’t see how this will be sustainable for attorneys or judges, even for the quickest or the best. We’ll be commuting & working all day. If we can’t work from home, we’ll have to work unpaid overtime at the office. Completely unsustainable.

The realistic and dispassionate prediction is that there will be waves of resignations as employees reach the limit of their tolerance for deteriorating working conditions. That's what the highest level of leadership wants (they've been explicit about that). I really don't think it's what local leadership wants. We'll see who wins out in the next couple of months.

Be realistic. Where would BVA attorneys go after they resign? VA disability law isn’t exactly transferable to in demand legal specialties.

LOL, I told one acquaintance I may be looking for a change and have had a few texts from local firms. Many of us had other careers before the Board (including, *gasp*, litigation!). Get real, troll.

Congrats on getting texts from SSA disability and VA disability law firms. I’m sure litigation before SSA ALJs and VA VLJs excites you.

[Anonymous]

Or you could get super lucky, land a big law job, and spend the rest of your life numbing the pain of 80+ hour weeks and no personal life with drugs and luxury goods until you kill yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or you could get super lucky, land a big law job, and spend the rest of your life numbing the pain of 80+ hour weeks and no personal life with drugs and luxury goods until you kill yourself.

Yes, of course, we all know that the vast majority of BVA attorneys turned down big law to work at BVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you could get super lucky, land a big law job, and spend the rest of your life numbing the pain of 80+ hour weeks and no personal life with drugs and luxury goods until you kill yourself.

Yes, of course, we all know that the vast majority of BVA attorneys turned down big law to work at BVA.

What do you do for a living besides troll BVA attorneys?

[Anonymous]

BVA attorneys can eventually make 190k for a 40 hour week. Definitely better than half the legal jobs in the country. The people shitting on it couldn’t get work at BVA. ☹️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do people think will happen with RTO for attorneys who aren’t within 50 miles of DC or for those of us working remotely more than 50 miles of DC? Is remote work dead? If they’re going to increase the quota without union protections & with more rigorous check ins (the union has told us of these plans over the past few years so it’s not really speculation as they now have the opportunity) with the loss of remote work or having the get ready & commute back & forth everyday, potentially long distances — I don’t see how this will be sustainable for attorneys or judges, even for the quickest or the best. We’ll be commuting & working all day. If we can’t work from home, we’ll have to work unpaid overtime at the office. Completely unsustainable.

The realistic and dispassionate prediction is that there will be waves of resignations as employees reach the limit of their tolerance for deteriorating working conditions. That's what the highest level of leadership wants (they've been explicit about that). I really don't think it's what local leadership wants. We'll see who wins out in the next couple of months.

Be realistic. Where would BVA attorneys go after they resign? VA disability law isn’t exactly transferable to in demand legal specialties.

LOL, I told one acquaintance I may be looking for a change and have had a few texts from local firms. Many of us had other careers before the Board (including, *gasp*, litigation!). Get real, troll.

Congrats on getting texts from SSA disability and VA disability law firms. I’m sure litigation before SSA ALJs and VA VLJs excites you.

What's with the negativity? These guys make a good living if you pay attention to the attorney fee statements. The millionaires at Chisholm and Bergmann have the same currency in their bank accounts as an attorney who practices antitrust at DOJ. Only a loser wants to tell them their living is not good enough because it doesn't meet some lofty idea of what legal practice is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or you could get super lucky, land a big law job, and spend the rest of your life numbing the pain of 80+ hour weeks and no personal life with drugs and luxury goods until you kill yourself.

+1. What's more the firm will contribute resources to your decline by paying you to take clients out and drink copious amounts of alcohol in the name of business development. It is not worth the time expended or the health consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or you could get super lucky, land a big law job, and spend the rest of your life numbing the pain of 80+ hour weeks and no personal life with drugs and luxury goods until you kill yourself.

+1. What's more the firm will contribute resources to your decline by paying you to take clients out and drink copious amounts of alcohol in the name of business development. It is not worth the time expended or the health consequences.

Ah yes, BVA attorneys would have joined big law but the potential adverse health consequences made them chose BVA where they happily pump out three decisions a week.

[Anonymous]

Oh jeez people get a grip! All legal jobs suck one way or another. If you get RIF'd at the Board, take it as a message from the universe that you can and should be doing something else with your life.