Approval rates
Judge Conlon maintains a lifetime approval rate of 65%. In the most recent reporting period, the judge recorded a 53% approval rate, which is 16 points above the current Atlanta North office average of 49%. These figures represent past performance and do not predict the outcome of your specific 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 Conlon'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 nine years on the bench, Judge Conlon has presided over 16,176 decisions. His yearly approval rates have shifted from 96% in 2017 to 56% in 2025. This trend reflects a transition toward a more moderate decision-making pattern over the course of his tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Conlon'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 Conlon? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Atlanta North hearing office
The Atlanta North Hearing Office serves a large population across Georgia. With a bench of six judges, the office currently reports an average approval rate of 49%. You can find more information on the Atlanta North Hearing Office page.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is random. Within the Atlanta North Hearing Office, the six ALJs range from 22% to 65% in their lifetime approval rates. This variance underscores the importance of focusing on the evidence in your file regardless of your assigned judge.
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.