Approval rates
Comparing approval rates requires looking at consistent timeframes to ensure a fair assessment. While your judge's overall approval rate on record since December 2023 is 47%, recent data from the latest reporting period shows a 50% approval rate. This latest figure sits 16 percentage points below the Atlanta Downtown office's latest-period rate of 66%. 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 Bentley'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 Lisa A. Bentley has shown a gradual trend over the 895 decisions on record since December 2023. Yearly data indicates an approval rate of 45% in 2024, 47% in 2025, and 50% in 2026 based on partial fiscal year data. This latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern as your judge's decisions have trended upward. These figures provide a window into past activity, though each case remains unique.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Bentley'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 Atlanta Downtown hearing office
Lisa A. Bentley's most recent office on record is the Atlanta Downtown hearing office, which serves you and others across the region. This office maintains a bench of 22 judges, and the office-wide latest-period approval rate is 66%. You can expect a standard hearing process focused on the specific medical evidence provided in your file. You can see the Atlanta Downtown Hearing Office page for the full roster.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Atlanta Downtown
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. There are 22 judges whose most recent office on record is the Atlanta Downtown hearing office, and 9 of them decided cases here in the latest file through July 2026. Approval rates for this bench range from 23% to 86% on their records. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same regardless of which judge you are assigned.
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 Bentley's approval rate on record since December 2023 is 47%. This sits within the broader range of 23% to 86% observed among the 22 judges whose most recent office on record is the Atlanta Downtown hearing office. An attorney can help you prepare for the specific requirements of this bench.
Yes, the data shows a steady trend in approval rates. The judge approved 45% of cases in 2024 and 47% in 2025, with a 50% approval rate recorded in the partial 2026 fiscal year. A qualified attorney can help you understand how these patterns might relate to your specific case.
No, you cannot request a specific judge. The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, which ensures that assignments remain random. An attorney can help you prepare your case regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing.
An approval rate is a probability cloud based on past decisions, not a prediction for your specific hearing. While Judge Bentley has an approval rate of 47% on record since December 2023, your outcome depends primarily on the medical evidence and testimony you present. An attorney can help you ensure your evidence is as strong as possible.
