Approval rates
Comparing Theodore Kim to broader benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. While the NHC Falls Church office maintains a recent approval rate of 51%, Theodore Kim's latest reporting period shows a 38% approval rate. This data is derived from 19,614 lifetime decisions, offering a stable statistical foundation for understanding the judge's bench history.
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 Kim'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, Theodore Kim has seen fluctuations in approval outcomes. After a period of stability between 2018 and 2022, the judge saw an increase in approvals during 2023 and 2024, followed by a return to a 40% rate in 2025. This pattern suggests that while the judge's approach is consistent, external factors or case complexities may influence yearly outcomes.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Kim'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 scheduled?
About the Nhc Falls Church hearing office
The NHC Falls Church hearing office serves you throughout Virginia and the surrounding region. As one of the busier offices in the OHO network, it handles a high volume of disability claims annually. You can expect a professional environment where evidence quality is the primary driver of success.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment to Theodore Kim is essentially random. Across the NHC Falls Church office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 42% to 69%. Because the judge you draw can vary significantly, understanding the office-wide environment is helpful.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.