Approval rates
Comparing approval rates requires looking at consistent timeframes to understand how your judge's decisions align with their peers. While your judge's overall approval rate since 2017 is 48%, her latest-period approval rate of 59% sits 8 percentage points above the Cleveland office's latest-period average of 51%.
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 Adamo'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
The approval rate for Genevieve Adamo has shown a varied trajectory across the 3,579 decisions on record since February 2017. After an initial period of fluctuation, the data shows a more recent upward trend, with the latest reporting period reaching 59% approval. This recent performance stands in contrast to the rates observed in the years following 2017.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Adamo'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.
About the Cleveland hearing office
The Cleveland hearing office is the most recent office on record for Genevieve Adamo, with her last recorded decision there in July 2026. With a bench of 22 judges, the office manages a consistent volume of hearings. The office's latest-period approval rate is 51%.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Cleveland
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Cleveland hearing office, there are 22 judges whose most recent office on record is this one. Approval rates for this bench range from 17% to 70% on their records since 2016.
Approval rates change with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Frequently asked questions
Judge Adamo's latest-period approval rate of 59% is 8 percentage points higher than the Cleveland office's latest-period average of 51%. An attorney can help you prepare your case to meet the specific evidentiary standards required for your hearing.
Yes, the approval rate for Genevieve Adamo has fluctuated over time. After starting at 62% in 2017, the rate saw a decline before trending upward to 59% in the most recent reporting period. An attorney can help you understand how these trends might relate to the current requirements for your disability claim.
No, you cannot request a specific judge. The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm to ensure efficiency, making the assignment process essentially random. An attorney can help you prepare for the hearing regardless of which judge is assigned to your case.
An SSDI hearing is a formal but non-adversarial proceeding where a judge reviews your medical evidence and hears testimony. You will likely be asked about your work history and how your impairments limit your daily activities. An attorney can help you prepare your testimony and ensure your medical records are organized for the judge.
A judge's approval rate is a probability cloud based on past decisions and does not predict the outcome of your specific hearing. Your case's success depends primarily on the quality of your medical evidence and how well it meets SSA's disability criteria. An attorney can help you identify and fill gaps in your medical evidence before your hearing date.
