Approval rates
Comparing a judge's history to current benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Laub maintains a lifetime approval rate of 42% based on 15,137 lifetime decisions. In the most recent reporting period, her approval rate trailed the Denver Hearing Office average by 20 percentage points and the national average by 16 percentage points. 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 Laub'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
Judge Laub has served on the bench for 9 years, establishing a record across 15,137 decisions. Her yearly approval trends show fluctuations, peaking in 2018 before settling into a different range in recent years. While the latest data shows an approval rate of 34% for 2024, these figures reflect the specific mix of cases heard during that period. This pattern suggests a stable approach to evidence evaluation throughout her tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Laub'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 Laub? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Denver hearing office
The Denver Hearing Office serves a broad population across Colorado, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office handles a diverse range of medical and vocational evidence. You may face a rigorous review process, with the office-wide latest approval rate currently at 62%. You can see the Denver 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. Within the Denver office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 42% to 62%. Because you cannot choose your judge, focus on the strength of your 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.