Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge French maintains a lifetime approval rate of 42%, which differs from the Lawrence office's latest average of 57% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a docket of 3,071 lifetime decisions. Remember that these 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 French'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 3 years on the bench, Judge French has presided over 3,071 lifetime decisions. Her approval rate was 53% in 2017 and 39% in 2018. While these trends offer insight into her judicial history, the lifetime average reflects the docket as a whole, not a prediction for your individual hearing.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge French'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 French? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Lawrence MA hearing office
The Lawrence, MA hearing office serves a wide region of claimants across Massachusetts. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a high volume of cases. The office currently maintains an average approval rate of 57%. You can visit the Lawrence Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster and additional office-specific resources.
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.