Background

This transmittal amends chapter I-1-2 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual to update and clarify instructions related to approving or disapproving an appointed representative's fee agreement.

Explanation of Content and Changes

HALLEX I-1-2 is amended as follows:

I-1-2-21 – We removed information that was duplicative of HALLEX I-1-2-6, removed outdated instruction, moved the remaining information to HALLEX I-1-2-25, and removed the section in its entirety.

I-1-2-25 – We titled the new section “Fee Agreement Approval or Disapproval” and incorporated information previously in HALLEX I-1-2-21, I-1-2-31, I-1-2-32, and I-1-2-33. We titled subsection A “Receipt of a Fee Agreement” and added general support staff instructions for handling a submitted fee agreement. We titled subsection B “Action on Fee Agreement” and added general instructions for approving or disapproving a fee agreement. We titled subsection C “Adjudicator Approves Fee Agreement but May Disagree With Authorized Fee Amount” and included instructions for obtaining a copy of the notification of the fee amount authorized under a fee agreement. We titled subsection D “Representative or Claimant Does Not Receive Fee Order” and included instructions for determining what action is warranted.

I-1-2-31 – We removed information that was duplicative of HALLEX I-1-2-6, moved the remaining information to HALLEX I-1-2-25, and removed the section in its entirety.

I-1-2-32 – We removed outdated instructions, moved the remaining information to HALLEX I-1-2-25, and removed the section in its entirety.

I-1-2-33 – We removed information that was duplicative of HALLEX I-1-2-6, moved the remaining information to HALLEX I-1-2-25, and removed the section in its entirety.

Date: June 6, 2017