Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance requires looking at both their long-term history and their most recent activity. With 15,845 lifetime decisions, Judge Hannan has a substantial docket that provides a clear view of their decision-making patterns over 9 years. While the latest reporting period shows a 59% approval rate, this should be weighed against the broader office and national averages. 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 Hannan'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 9-year tenure, your judge's approval rate has shown a notable upward shift. After hovering in the 39% to 49% range during the middle of their career, the approval rate climbed to 60% in 2025. This trend reflects a move toward higher allowance rates compared to the earlier years of their bench service. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern of increased approvals.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Hannan'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 Hannan? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Nhc Falls Church hearing office
The NHC Falls Church Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Virginia and the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a high volume of cases that require careful preparation and documentation. The office-wide latest approval rate currently stands at 51%, which provides a baseline for the local environment. You can see the NHC Falls Church Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
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. Within the NHC Falls Church Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 48% to 69%. This variance highlights why understanding the local judicial landscape is important for your hearing strategy. You can find more information on the NHC Falls Church Hearing Office page.
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.