Winning the Case Before the Hearing: The Power of the Pre-Hearing Brief – 2026 Spring National Conference – Track I (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

Laci N. Hamilton, Esq., Founder & Managing Attorney | Hamilton Law

Laci N. Hamilton is an attorney, author, and educator based in Louisiana. She is the Founder and Managing Attorney of Hamilton Law, a firm dedicated to personal injury and Social Security Disability representation. With years of experience representing claimants before the Social Security Administration and in federal administrative courts, Ms. Hamilton brings a practical, advocacy-focused perspective to every case and every classroom. She is also the author of Social Security Disability Cases: A Practical Guide for Attorneys and Advocates, a comprehensive manual used by practitioners and students across the country to navigate the complex process of disability representation.

• Education & Credentials

Laci N. Hamilton is a licensed attorney practicing in Louisiana, with a practice concentrated in personal injury and Social Security Disability law. She is the published author of Social Security Disability Cases: A Practical Guide for Attorneys and Advocates, a nationally used manual that has established her as a recognized authority in disability representation. She also serves as an adjunct professor teaching legal writing, analysis, and bar preparation — credentials that reflect both her doctrinal expertise and her commitment to legal education. (Specific academic credentials are not included in the provided biography.)

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Hamilton is recognized nationally as both a practitioner and an educator in Social Security Disability law. Her book, Social Security Disability Cases: A Practical Guide for Attorneys and Advocates, is used by practitioners and students across the country, cementing her reputation as a leading voice in disability advocacy training. As an adjunct professor and founder of her own firm, she has built a career at the intersection of legal practice, scholarship, and public service — known for her clarity, energy, and passion for making law accessible to attorneys and advocates at every stage of their careers.

• Professional Involvement

In addition to her active law practice, Ms. Hamilton serves as an adjunct professor teaching legal writing, analysis, and bar preparation. Her teaching reflects a deep commitment to training the next generation of attorneys and non-attorney advocates to represent disability claimants with excellence and empathy.

Through her book, her classroom work, and her law practice, she has built an integrated professional presence dedicated to advancing the quality of Social Security Disability representation across the country.

• Experience

Ms. Hamilton founded Hamilton Law to provide dedicated personal injury and Social Security Disability representation to clients in Louisiana, and has developed substantial experience appearing before the Social Security Administration and in federal administrative courts. Her approach to practice emphasizes strategic case development, persuasive writing, and client-centered advocacy — principles she applies equally in the courtroom and the classroom. As both a managing attorney and an educator, she has built her career on the conviction that law should be accessible, and that well-trained advocates — whether attorneys or non-attorneys — are essential to ensuring that disabled individuals receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

I. Winning the Case Before the Hearing: The Power of the Pre-Hearing Brief | 11:30am – 12:30pm

Winning a Social Security disability case doesn’t start at the hearing — it starts long before the ALJ ever takes the bench. This program equips attorneys with a proven, repeatable framework for pre-hearing preparation that controls the narrative, neutralizes risk, and puts the case in the best possible position to win. Attendees will learn how to draft a compelling pre-hearing brief that directs the ALJ’s focus from the start, identify and defuse red-flag issues before they derail the hearing, and mine the ERE file strategically for arguments that hold up under scrutiny. Through evidence-based storytelling, attorneys will learn to align medical and vocational findings into a cohesive, persuasive case theory, turning complex records into a clear path to a favorable decision.