Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks helps you understand the environment of your upcoming hearing. Judge Gill maintains a 62% lifetime approval rate across 17,820 lifetime decisions, which currently tracks 4 percentage points higher than the national average. While his latest approval rate of 65% aligns with the Oakland Hearing Office average, it remains a point of reference rather than a guarantee.
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 Gill'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 a decade on the bench, Judge Gill has demonstrated a steady approach to disability adjudication. His yearly approval trends show fluctuations, ranging from a low of 56% in 2021 to a high of 70% in 2022, reflecting the inherent variability in case evidence. The most recent data indicates a 64% approval rate, suggesting a continuation of his long-term historical average across his 17,820 lifetime decisions.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Gill'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 Gill? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oakland hearing office
The Oakland Hearing Office manages a high volume of disability claims through its team of 6 administrative law judges. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 65%, which provides a local context for your hearing. You can expect a standard administrative process focused on the medical and vocational evidence presented in your file.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning your assignment to a specific judge is essentially random. At the Oakland Hearing Office, the bench of 6 judges features a range of approval rates, spanning from 47% to 72%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focusing on the strength of your medical evidence is the most effective way to prepare.
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.