Dealing with “Moderate” Mental Limitations in MSSs and SSA Determinations – NOSSCR 2026 Fall National Conference – Track I (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

Maryjean Ellis, Attorney | Law Office of Maryjean Ellis, LLC

Maryjean has been representing Social Security Disability/SSI claimants since 2005, when she opened her own law practice. She represents claimants at all administrative levels.

• Education & Credentials

She earned her law degree from Seton Hall University Law School in 1996 and passed the New Jersey bar the same year. She is admitted to practice before the Federal District Court of New Jersey, and the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

• Recognition & Leadership

In 2023, Maryjean was appointed by the NJ Supreme Court to the Committee on Character, which reviews the applicants for admission to the New Jersey Bar. She serves her community as a Member of the Sussex County New Jersey Mental Health Board which promotes access to and availability of efficient, adequate, integrated health care services for children and adults with mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

• Professional Involvement

She is a sustaining member of NOSSCR, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the Sussex County NJ Bar Association. Maryjean has provided Social Security Disability/SSI law training for attorneys and advocates locally and nationally and is the co-author of a practice manual titled Mental Disorders in Social Security Disability Practice, published by James Publishing, Inc.

• Experience

Before opening her own practice in 2005, she gained legal experience across a broad range of settings. While attending Rutgers, she worked as a pharmacy technician at a large teaching hospital, learning medical terminology and the reading of medical records — a skill she applies to identifying the objective medical evidence that supports her disability clients’ impairments.

SESSION 1 – Dealing with “Moderate” Mental Limitations in MSSs and SSA Determinations | 1:30pm – 2:30pm

You need not despair if you only have “moderate” mental limitations in agency determinations or in Medical Source Statements. When eliciting medical opinions, it is important to properly define the term. We will consider different definitions of “moderate” to include on MSS forms. We will review ALJ training materials on “moderate” limitations. We will discuss how to appeal an unfavorable ALJ decision in which “moderate” findings may be a factor. We will also review relevant case law.