Here’s an interesting little tidbit that we ran across and decided to share with you. The attached is a picture of the 2008 BVA judges. Yep. Some of them must have missed picture day or were on vacation (we hope). After digging further, we found this:

In Fiscal Year 2008, the Board issued 43,757 decisions and conducted 10,652 hearings with a cycle time of 155 days. Cycle time measures the time from the date an appeal is physically received at the Board until a decision is dispatched, excluding the time the case is with a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative.

  The Board consists of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Principal Deputy Vice Chairman, 60 Veterans Law Judges (VLJs), eight Senior Counsel, 296 staff counsel, and other administrative and clerical staff. The Chairman reports directly to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Board is comprised of four Decision Teams with jurisdiction over appeals arising from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Offices (RO) and Medical Centers in one of four geographical regions: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, and West (including the Philippines). Each Decision Team includes a Deputy Vice Chairman, two Chief VLJs, 12 line Judges, two Senior Counsel, and 71 staff counsel. Staff counsel review the record on appeal, research the applicable law, and prepare comprehensive draft decisions or remand orders for review by a VLJ who reviews the draft and issues the final decision or appropriate preliminary order in the appeal. 

During the past fiscal year, the Board hired 75 attorneys and law clerks to fill vacant staff counsel positions and to replace departing staff counsel. In addition, seven new VLJs and seven Senior Counsel were selected through competitive processes. Senior Counsel serve as Acting Veterans Law Judges, draft decisions, mentor and train other attorneys, and assist in management. 

So, by process of addition, I count 67 VLJs, and 15 senior Counsel who are Acting VLJs for a total of 82 physical Judges. According to the BVA Decisions site, there were 49,125 decisions issued in 2009.  That’s 599 decisions per year, per Judge. Ouch. That’s a pretty intense caseload. Any wonder how things get lost, shredded or simply confudlecated? All the more reason to put your SSN/case # on everything and be prepared at the last moment to send them corroborating evidence they lose or misplace.
Attached Files:
Department_of_Veterans_Affairs.doc (504.50 KB, 5 views)