Approval rates
Judge Farrell's approval rate is evaluated against the Albany Hearing Office and broader national benchmarks to provide context for your upcoming hearing. Over his 10-year tenure, he has maintained a consistent volume of cases. In the most recent reporting period, his 84% approval rate stood 14 percentage points above the national average. 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 Farrell'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 the past decade, Judge Farrell's approval rate has shown an upward trajectory, evolving from the low 60% range in his early years to recent highs. This shift reflects a consistent approach to evaluating your Social Security disability claim, with the latest period showing a continuation of this pattern. His current performance remains above the office-wide baseline, indicating a thorough review process. These trends provide a window into his judicial history over 18,656 total decisions.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Farrell'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.
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Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Albany hearing office
The Albany Hearing Office serves a population across New York, managing a volume of SSDI and SSI claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office operates under standard SSA Office of Hearings Operations guidelines to ensure due process. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 67%, which serves as a benchmark for local proceedings.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to Judge Farrell is essentially random. Within the Albany Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary, ranging from 49% to 81%. This variance highlights why the specific judge assigned to your case can influence the procedural flow of your hearing. Preparation remains essential 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.