Defending the Persuasiveness of Helpful Medical Opinions Under the 2017 Regulations – NOSSCR 2026 Fall National Conference – Track I (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)
Thomas D. Sutton is a former President and member of the Board of Directors of NOSSCR. Thomas has lectured on disability law throughout the United States and has served as a faculty member for NOSSCR, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and numerous other legal education forums.
David Chermol is a former OGC attorney with a national litigation practice in SSA cases, representing thousands of claimants before the agency and federal courts. He has provided national and regional training to SSA’s administrative law judges on issuing legally defensible decisions and, in coordination with the Department of Justice, trained SSA attorneys on effective appellate advocacy.
1 hour CLE
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Program Summary
Two Factors Were Supposed to End the Argument
They Didn't The 2017 regulations changed the terms. SSA tried to narrow the consideration of medical opinions to only two factors: supportability and consistency. But narrowed consideration is not the same as no argument — and the persuasiveness determination remains contestable ground.
The stakes concentrate at the appeal. An ALJ finds a helpful medical opinion unpersuasive, and the case turns on whether that determination survives review. Some of those opinions, if properly considered, require favorable decisions — which makes the avenue of appeal the difference between an adverse determination standing and a favorable decision compelled.
You walk out with the appellate playbook: the avenues for appeal of adverse ALJ persuasiveness determinations, SSA's arguments on appeal, and the judicial responses to our positions — what the courts are accepting, and where the openings are.
Eligible for up to 1 CLE Credit Hour
This session was originally submitted for CLE as a live, in-person presentation and a live webcast for the 2026 Fall National Conference and may be eligible for self-study credit. Each state handles self-study credit differently; for questions, please consult your State Bar Association.
Recorded Thursday, October 15, 2026.
Key topics to be discussed:
- The 2017 Regulations
SSA's attempt to narrow the consideration of medical opinions to two factors. - Supportability and Consistency
The two factors that now frame every persuasiveness determination. - Adverse Persuasiveness Findings
When an ALJ finds a helpful medical opinion unpersuasive — and what that determination leaves open. - Avenues for Appeal
The paths for appealing adverse ALJ determinations on the persuasiveness of medical opinions. - Opinions That Compel Favorable Decisions
Medical opinions which, if properly considered, require favorable decisions. - SSA's Arguments and Judicial Responses
What SSA argues on appeal, and how courts have responded to our positions.
This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.
Date / Time: October 15, 2026
- 3:45 pm – 4:45 pm Eastern
- 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm Central
- 1:45 pm – 2:45 pm Mountain
- 12:45 pm – 1:45 pm Pacific
Closed-captioning available
Speakers
Thomas D. Sutton, Partner | Leventhal Sutton & Gornstein
Thomas D. Sutton is a former President and member of the Board of Directors of NOSSCR.
- Education & Credentials
Mr. Sutton graduated from Haverford College in 1978 and joined Leventhal Sutton & Gornstein in 1994 after ten years with legal services programs in Atlanta, Georgia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. • Recognition & Leadership He has testified before Congressional committees on disability law and has participated in meetings with the highest Social Security officials.
- Professional Involvement
He has lectured on disability law throughout the United States and has served as a faculty member for NOSSCR, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and numerous other legal education forums.
- Experience
He has represented thousands of claimants before SSI, and has litigated hundreds of cases in the district courts, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
David Chermol, Founding and Lead Partner | Chermol & Fishman, LLC
David Chermol is a former OGC attorney with a national litigation practice in SSA cases, representing thousands of claimants before the agency and federal courts.
- Recognition & Leadership
During his decade at SSA, he served as the Commissioner’s senior disability litigator for Mid-Atlantic Region III at the GS-15 level and received two Excellence in Service Awards and a General Counsel’s citation.
- Professional Involvement
He has provided national and regional training to SSA’s administrative law judges on issuing legally defensible decisions and, in coordination with the Department of Justice, trained SSA attorneys on effective appellate advocacy. He served as SSA’s lead author, presenter, and editor for the 2006 and 2007 Pennsylvania continuing legal education courses on disability appeals in the federal courts, and he is a member of NOSSCR and the National Association of Disability Representatives.
- Experience
From 1997 to 2007, he was an Assistant Regional Counsel for the Social Security Administration’s Office of the General Counsel in Philadelphia, serving as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Commissioner of Social Security in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of Delaware. He personally litigated or developed litigation strategy in most of the major disability cases resulting in published Third and Fourth Circuit decisions during that period.
Agenda
SESSION 1 – Defending the Persuasiveness of Helpful Medical Opinions Under the 2017 Regulations | 3:45pm – 4:45pm
SSA tried to narrow the consideration of medical opinions to only two factors in 2017: supportability and consistency. This session will explore the avenues for appeal of adverse ALJ determinations on the persuasiveness of medical opinions which, if properly considered, require favorable decisions. We will consider SSA’s arguments and judicial responses to our positions on appeal.
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