Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Abbondondelo maintains a lifetime approval rate of 79%, which stands above the 58% national average and the 65% office average for the latest reporting period. With over a decade of experience and a high volume of decisions, her docket offers a clear statistical profile. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for your individual hearing.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Abbondondelo's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over her 10 years on the bench, Judge Abbondondelo has shown a consistent pattern of approvals. While her early years saw rates in the low 70s, her recent performance has trended upward, reaching 84% in 2025. This shift reflects a stable approach to evaluating medical evidence and vocational factors. The latest period indicates that her decision-making process remains well-defined for those appearing before her.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Abbondondelo's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Abbondondelo? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Shreveport hearing office
The Shreveport Hearing Office serves a broad population across Louisiana, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office operates under standard Office of Hearings Operations guidelines to ensure due process. The office-wide latest approval rate of 65% highlights the importance of thorough documentation in your claim. You can visit the Shreveport Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. Across the Shreveport Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 42% to 79%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your medical evidence. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent regardless of which judge you are assigned.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.