5-step sequential evaluation, medical-vocational grid analysis, RFC assessment, the appeal ladder (reconsideration → ALJ → Appeals Council), MSS request tracking, and the SSA fee cap calculator stay in one workflow, with sources visible for you to review and confirm.
10 clicks or less from intake to filing-ready, no tedious form filling
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Case Stress Test
DocketBuddy can stay fast for repeatable matter work while adding 36 practice-aware stress tests for the moments that decide value, risk, proof, local practice, and post-submission action. The point is not to make attorneys browse another catalogue. It is to show what a trustee, agency, opposing counsel, adjuster, ALJ, court, or beneficiary may question, then turn that issue into a source-backed attorney review question, proof gap, and client request.
The commercial ladder stays simple: sell the $99 automation as the front door, then expand when the file reveals contradictions, missing proof, bad facts, deadline risk, eligibility questions, credibility issues, or scope creep. Practice management records the case. Case Stress Test finds the problems someone else may use as leverage and keeps the next action attorney-controlled.
36
Practice stress tests
10
Case-critical lenses
$99
Workflow entry price
Reviewer lens
Signals from intake, uploads, deadlines, notes, and active matters decide when a stress test appears, so attorneys see the issue instead of another practice-management menu.
Issue card
Each issue shows why it surfaced, the source basis, the missing proof, and the attorney-safe next action, then lets the firm copy the client request or open the packet.
Attorney-safe handoff
Source gates, release posture, review questions, and attorney-only decisions are visible before anything becomes client-facing work.
Offer ladder
1. Start
$99 intake, document, date, and source-fact automation.
2. Stress test
Right-time review that names what may be questioned, why it surfaced, what proof is missing, and what the attorney should decide next.
3. Expand
Paid diagnostic, scope upgrade, risk review, proof package, or follow-up loop.
Scrutiny trigger
Case Stress Test should feel quiet until the matter needs it. Every prompt has to prove the right to appear, name the likely reviewer, explain the source posture, land where the attorney is already working, and preserve the client-release boundary before it suggests a value path.
1. Matter signal
The file has to earn the prompt
A stress test wakes only from a practice-specific fact pattern, uploaded source, deadline, attorney note, or queue signal tied to the matter in front of the firm.
2. Signal proof
Show why it appeared
The first screen names the matched signal, source basis, proof posture, likely reviewer, and reappear rule so the attorney can trust the interruption.
3. Surface slot
Put it where work is happening
Each prompt belongs in intake, upload review, a deadline strip, the matter panel, the attorney queue, or the dashboard queue instead of a separate catalogue.
4. Attorney gate
Keep judgment attorney-controlled
Client release, legal conclusions, strategy calls, fee changes, and outcome language stay blocked until the attorney approves the source and route.
5. Value path
Turn the moment into expansion
When the signal is real, the review can support a paid diagnostic, scope upgrade, proof package, risk review, local playbook, or post-submission control loop.
Just-in-time surfacing
Each review appears only from matched matter facts, source gaps, uploaded documents, timing cues, attorney notes, or queue priority. The first screen tells the firm who may question the issue, why it appeared, which candidates stayed quiet, what to do now, what value can be safely measured, and what must stay source-gated or attorney-only.
Intake capture
Catch scrutiny before the consult hardens
When intake answers reveal a risky fact, missing proof, or scope problem, the stress test turns it into an attorney review question instead of another vague note.
Document upload review
Find the contradiction at the source
Uploaded notices, records, statements, or financial documents wake the review only when they create a real conflict, proof gap, or reviewer question.
Deadline strip
Tie timing risk to case posture
RFE dates, hearing dates, SOL language, appeal windows, and objection periods surface as source-first scrutiny checks with attorney guardrails.
Matter panel
The open file explains what may be attacked
Inside a live matter, the first strip answers who may question the issue, why it surfaced, what proof is missing, and what must stay attorney-only.
Attorney review queue
Rank the problems that change the file
Urgent, high-value, local-practice, post-submission, and red-flag items are ranked by source posture, deadline urgency, and attorney next action.
Dashboard queue
Cross-matter scrutiny, not catalogue browsing
The dashboard shows active matters that deserve review now and stays quiet when there is no matched fact, source conflict, timing cue, or attorney-review reason.
Quiet-state rule: if the file has no matched signal, no source event, no timing cue, and no attorney-review reason, DocketBuddy stays with the ordinary 10-click workflow.
Case-critical review lenses
Consistency
Facts conflict across intake, forms, uploads, prior filings, notes, or evidence.
Proof burden
Claims, elements, eligibility points, or requested benefits lack supporting proof.
Timeline integrity
Dates have gaps, overlaps, missing month/year precision, or impossible sequences.
Bad facts
Scrutiny-worthy facts are hidden, weakly explained, or unsupported.
Deadlines and posture
Response windows, objection periods, appeals, hearings, or filings create timing risk.
Eligibility thresholds
Gatekeeping facts need attorney confirmation before the matter proceeds.
Credibility
The story is vague, contradicted, over-polished, or unsupported by corroboration.
Evidence sufficiency
The packet is coherent but thin against what a reviewer would expect.
Scope and fee risk
The matter is becoming more complex than quoted or needs a paid diagnostic.
Theory of case
The attorney sees the cleanest story, what supports it, what undermines it, and what remains unproven.
These support paid diagnostics, scope upgrades, local playbooks, risk reviews, proof packages, post-submission control, and client request packets without turning the product into a menu attorneys have to remember.
Case selection
Screen the facts that drive margin, difficulty, and fit before the matter becomes another open file.
Output: Attorney review memo
Revenue expansion
Surface adjacent claims, higher-value tracks, or premium work that routine intake can miss.
Output: Value-expansion checklist
Risk detection
Flag bad facts, missing disclosures, deadline pressure, and evidence problems while there is still time to act.
Output: Red-flag queue
Evidence sufficiency
Map each claim or agency request to the proof on hand, the gap, and the next document request.
Output: Evidence matrix
Local practice
Capture trustee, court, judge, board, or field-office preferences as attorney-owned workflow guidance.
Output: Local-practice note
Post-submission
Keep the case alive after the package goes out: objections, RFEs, follow-ups, hearings, liens, and modifications.
Output: After-filing action plan
Lead wedge
The SSDI ladder turns medical evidence into RFC support, listing gaps, bad facts, and hearing brief prep before the ALJ date is breathing down the file.
Build sequence
Convert records into RFC support, listing gaps, bad facts, and hearing brief outline.
Stress-test output
RFC support table · Listing gap report · Bad-fact list
Capped-fee practices win by reducing prep time and finding proof gaps early.
Screen whether the claim has enough insured-status, onset, work-activity, medical, and hearing posture to justify attorney time.
Stress-test output
Claim-strength memo · SGA/onset flags · DLI risk note
Solos need to avoid low-value or bad-fit claims before hearing prep consumes the margin.
See it in action
The workflows SSDI attorneys spend the most time on: deadlines, RFC, and hearing prep, organized into guided next steps.
SSA pipeline tracked stage by stage. Appeal-window context opens from the denial date, with reminders surfaced before the deadline becomes the emergency.
Physical and mental RFC documented in one place. B-criteria tracked, exertional limits organized, source conflicts surfaced before the ALJ does.
Pre-hearing checklist organized from case data. Hearing-brief prep starts from the same medical evidence, RFC, and sequential-evaluation record.
The problem
SSDI cases take two to three years and the administrative load is brutal: every client has a five-step sequential evaluation to document, an RFC to build, a hearing to prepare for, and a 65-day appeal window that restarts the clock if you miss it.
Most attorneys managing more than a handful of SSDI clients are tracking deadlines in spreadsheets, building RFC documentation from scratch in every case, and assembling hearing briefs manually under pressure. The work compounds.
DocketBuddy organizes the documentation and deadline layer: the SSA pipeline tracks every client from initial application through federal court, appeal windows are calculated from denial dates for attorney review, and RFC documentation, sequential evaluation, VE hypotheticals, and hearing-brief prep are all built from the case data already in the system.
The legal judgment is yours, the paperwork isn't.
What it does
SSA CASE PIPELINE
Track every client from initial application through reconsideration, ALJ hearing, Appeals Council, and federal court, with denial dates driving the appeal-window view for attorney verification before deadlines pass.
65-DAY DEADLINE TRACKING
Appeal deadline context is tracked from the denial date. Reminder workflows can be configured for appeal windows and ALJ hearings, with deadlines surfaced for attorney review.
SEQUENTIAL EVALUATION TRACKER
All five steps of SSA's sequential evaluation (SGA test, severity, listing analysis, past work, and other work), documented and organized by step. Step 5 VE/grids analysis tracked separately.
RFC DOCUMENTATION
Document physical exertional levels, sit/stand/walk limits, and additional limitations, and track the four B-criteria for mental RFC. Treating source RFC vs. SSA RFC conflicts are surfaced before the hearing, not after.
ALJ HEARING PREP
Pre-hearing checklist organized from case data. Brief-prep surfaces pull together medical records, RFC documentation, and sequential evaluation findings for attorney review before anything is submitted.
VE HYPOTHETICAL BUILDER
Construct residual functional capacity hypotheticals for vocational expert testimony. Track VE responses and keep cross-examination prep tied to the hypothetical limitations, not pulled from memory under pressure.
OTR / APPEALS COUNCIL BRIEF
On-the-Record request and Appeals Council brief prep can be structured from case data: medical evidence summary, RFC argument, and favorable opinion citations. Attorney review and final drafting required.
APPROVAL PROBABILITY + GRID RULES
Attorney-planning score from case data (medical evidence strength, RFC limitations, listing match, claimant profile) with grid-rule context for age, education, and work history. Not a prediction; attorney judgment required before use.
MEDICAL EVIDENCE TRACKING
Track every medical provider (treating physician, specialist, hospital, examiner) with record status from not-requested through summarized. Gaps in medical evidence flagged before the ALJ finds them.
FOLLOW-UP SEQUENCES
Stage-aware follow-up workflows support medical-record requests, hearing reminders, and post-decision deadlines. Touchpoints stay attached to the matter instead of scattered across inboxes and calendars.
SSA PIPELINE
Every client tracked from initial application through reconsideration, ALJ, Appeals Council, and federal court, with appeal windows derived from each stage's own deadline rules
RFC DOCUMENTATION
Physical and mental RFC organized by criterion, with the analysis written for your review and a plain-language version for the client conversation
HEARING BRIEF
Medical evidence, RFC findings, and sequential evaluation results assemble into a full pre-hearing brief for your review before it goes anywhere
NEWEST CAPABILITY
Generate an ALJ pre-hearing brief or Appeals Council brief straight from the case record, versioned so every draft stays available as the hearing date gets closer.
Scope and limits
DocketBuddy is case management and documentation software, not a substitute for legal judgment. Every AI-generated output: approval probability, hearing brief, RFC conflict flag, VE cross-exam questions, is labeled Attorney Work Product and requires attorney review before use.
Approval probability scores are derived from case data and industry patterns. They are not a guarantee of outcome and should not be communicated to clients without independent attorney judgment.
Reminder workflows can be configured around scheduled windows, but attorneys remain responsible for all filing deadlines. Technology failure does not extend an appeal window.
Medical listing analysis surfaces potential matches based on documented RFC and sequential evaluation data. Step 3 analysis requires attorney judgment and medical authority, the system does not make listing determinations.
Trust layer
Questions? hello@docketbuddy.org
Full security details →Most solo and small-firm attorneys already use plenty of software. The problem isn't the tools, it's that none of them work like a legal workflow.
One self-serve price per practice package. Unlimited matters. No per-case fees or per-seat software charges.
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