Presentations and Papers

A Selection of 50 of Atkins’ Speaking Engagements:

View from the Bench: Federal Judge’s Dialogue – Moderator, 14th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims, ACI, New York, New York, January 2012.

View from the Bench: Federal Judge’s Dialogue – Moderator, 13th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims, ACI, Boston, Massachusetts, June, 2010.

Long Term Disability Insurance Claims, How to Draft Your First Administrative Appeal, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), San Francisco, California, October 2009.

What happens after you have won your Federal Court Case- Filing for 406(b) Fees, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), San Francisco, California, October 2009.

View from the Bench: Federal Judge’s Dialogue – Moderator, 12th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims, ACI, Boston, Massachusetts, June 16, 2009.

View from the Bench: Federal Judge’s Dialogue – Moderator, 11th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims, ACI, Boston, Massachusetts, June 11, 2008.

Judicial Panel: What We Want to See, But Don’t See Often Enough, Federal Court Judicial Panel- Moderator, Eleventh Circuit Proving Mental Disabilities in Social Security Claims, The Florida Bar CLE and Public Interest Law Section, Amelia Island, FL, August 25, 2007.

Obtaining Statements from Doctors and Psychologists, Eleventh Circuit Proving Mental Disabilities in Social Security Claims, The Florida Bar CLE and Public Interest Law Section, Amelia Island, FL, August 24, 2007.

Discovery Strategies to Boost Your Chances of Prevailing,10th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims, ACI, Boston, Massachusetts, June 6, 2007.

Elder Planning in Georgia, Lorman, Atlanta, Georgia, April 19, 2006.

Document Penalties Under ERISA 502(c) for an Administrator’s Failure to Supply Requested Documents, ACI, 9^th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims, ACI, Miami, Florida, February 23, 2006.

Litigated Issues in the Occupational Analysis of a Claimant’s Job and Effective Use of Functional Capacity Evaluations and Vocational Experts, 8th National Advanced Forum on Litigating Disability Insurance Claims, ACI, Coral Gables, Florida, March 3, 2005.

Outgoing President of National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) National Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fall 2004.

President’s Address, The Measure of a Person is the Worth of the Things He or She Cares About, as President of the National Organization of Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), San Diego, California, Spring 2004.

The Effect of Social Security Awards on Long Term Disability Claims, Disability Insurance Claims Conference, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) Atlanta, Georgia, March 25, 2004.

Subrogation Claims Under the ERISA Law, substitute presenter for Mark D. DeBofsky, National Legal Symposium, November 7-8, 2003.

President’s Address, Filling the Jar, Drawing the Snowman & What did he teacher have for breakfast? As President of the National Organization of Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), Chicago, Illinois, Fall 2003

Mediating a Disability Income Claim, Phoenix, AZ, Fall 2003.

The Primer: Social Security Law -The Vocational Perspective, Seminar Leader, Panel Discussion, NOSSCR, Washington, D.C., Spring 2003.

The Effect of Social Security Awards on Long Term Disability Claims, Handling Long-Term Disability/ERISA Claims, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) Atlanta, Georgia, March 27, 2003.

ERISA and Individual Disability Insurance Claims What the Practitioner Needs to Know, Seminar Leader, Panel Discussion, NOSSCR, San Francisco, CA, Fall 2002.

Federal Court Litigation The Nuts and Bolts, ATLA Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, Summer 2002.

ERISA What the Practitioner Needs to Know about Long Term Disability Claims and ERISA, NOSSCR, Atlanta, Georgia, Spring 2002.

How to Recognize and Combat the Dirty Tricks Used to Defeat Legitimate Claims, Insurance Claims Conference, GTLA, Atlanta, Georgia, May 6, 2002.

Atkins Name is Placed on the Wall of Tolerance, Honoring those who are leading the way toward a more tolerant and just America, National Campaign for Tolerance, Washington, D.C., May 15, 2002.

The Effect of Social Security Awards on Long Term Disability Claims and Handling Long Term Disability Claims;Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) in Georgia, Atlanta, March 28, 2002.

GTLA Social Security Seminar- Speaker Long Term Disability Litigation, Chairperson and Speaker, Georgia Trial Lawyers Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia, August 1, 2001.

GTLA Social Security Seminar- Speaker Long Term Disability Litigation, Chairperson and Speaker, Georgia Trial Lawyers Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia, August 1, 2001.

The Interplay between Disability Insurance Claims and Social Security Disability, Understanding Offsets and Case Law, Georgia Trial Lawyers Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia, August 2001.

Trial Preparation for Federal Court Litigation in LTD/ERISA Cases How to Successfully Prepare the Case, Medical, Vocational and Trial Preparation in Disability Cases, ICLE, Atlanta, Georgia, February 1-2, 2001.

Disability Insurance Claims How to Successfully Present the Case, Insurance Claims and Bad Faith for the Tort Lawyer Conference, GTLA, Atlanta, Georgia, November 10, 2000.

PreLitigation Strategies: Can the Claim Be Resolved Before it Becomes a Case? Panel Presentation Documenting and Developing the Case, 3rd National Advanced Forum for Litigating Disability Insurance Claims Conference, ACI, Boston, June 22, 2000.

Long Term Disability Insurance Claims–How To Recognize and Combat the Dirty Tricks Used to Defeat Legitimate Claims, Remarks to the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, GTLA Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, May 6, 2000.

Process Unification and the State Agency, Social Security Law Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) Atlanta, Georgia, March 2, 2000.

U.S. Governmental Expert Forum, Providing Legal and Policy Expertise about Ideas and Concerns regarding the Use of the O*Net for evidentiary purposes in SSA’s disability determination process (DDP). Washington, D.C., July 2000.

Vocational Expert Testimony: Effective Use of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) in Cross Examining the Vocational Expert. NOSSCR Conference; Orlando, Florida, May 3-6, 2000.

The Medical, Vocational and Legal Aspects of Brain Injuries and Disability Claims, Brain Injury Effective Representation of Claimants in Continuing Disability Reviews, NOSSCR Conference, San Diego, California, Spring 1998.

Medical/Vocational Aspects of Disability, Presentation to the Florida Bar, March 1998, Social Security Conference.

The Vocational Aspect of Physical and Mental Disabilities, NOSSCR Conference, Spring 1998.

Meeting Leader, Semi-Annual Circuit Update Meetings for the Eleventh Circuit, Spring and Fall, 1996-2003Association 2000 Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2000.

Process Unification and the State Agency, Social Security Law Institute, Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), Atlanta, Georgia March 3, 2000.

Strategies for Effective Advocacy, Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Committee and the Public Interest Law Section, 3^rd Annual Eleventh Circuit Conference, Tampa, January 26, 2000 and Miami, January 27, 2000.

Atkins Presented with Certificate Recognition for Outstanding Public Service in Providing Legal Representation to the Low Income Citizens of Georgia, from the Pro Bono Project of the State Bar of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, December 31, 1999.

The Medical, Vocational and Legal Aspects of Brain Injuries, NOSSCR Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 1999.

Mock Hearing, NOSSCR, New Orleans, Fall 1999.

Federal Medicaid Rules, Medicaid in Georgia & the Application Process, Medical Educational Services, MEDS, Atlanta, August 25, 1999.

Medical Issues in Disability Cases, Eleventh Circuit Seminar; Seminar Chairperson and Speaker, Jekyll Island, Georgia; July 30 & 31, 1999.

Cross Examination of the Vocational Expert, Florida Bar Association, Miami and Tampa, Florida, March 1999.

Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income,Breakthroughs and Frontiers: 1999 Conference, Brain Injury Association, Atlanta, Georgia, February 1999.

TBI’s, Traumatic Brain Injury Stakeholder’s Conference, Decatur, Georgia, October 11-12, 1998.

Strategic Considerations for Maximizing Your Settlement Packages, PESI, Atlanta, Georgia 1998.

Chairperson,Eleventh Circuit Social Security Conference, August 14-15, 1998, Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Disability and Sedentary Unskilled Work, Eleventh Circuit Seminar, Seminar Chairperson and Speaker, Jekyll Island, Georgia; August 14 & 15, 1998.