Approval rates
The approval rate for Judge French is 15 percentage points lower than the Lawrence MA Hearing Office average of 57%. When compared to the national average of 58%, her rate is 16 percentage points lower. These figures are derived from her 3,071 lifetime decisions on the bench. 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 your 3 years on the bench, Judge French has maintained a consistent decision-making profile. Her yearly trend shows an approval rate of 53% in 2017, which shifted to 39% in 2018. This pattern reflects a decline in the approval rate during her tenure. Such shifts often occur due to changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of evidence presented in a given period.
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? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Lawrence MA hearing office
The Lawrence MA Hearing Office serves a significant population across Massachusetts, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an average approval rate of 57%. You can expect a formal hearing process where your medical documentation is the primary focus. You can visit the Lawrence MA Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Across the Lawrence MA Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates for judges range from 42% to 73%. This variance highlights why you should focus on the strength of your own medical evidence. For preparation purposes, the guidance remains consistent 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.