Approval rates
When evaluating your claim, it is helpful to understand how a judge's history compares to broader benchmarks. Judge Lesperance has maintained a 50% lifetime approval rate over a decade of service. In the most recent reporting period, her 47% approval rate trailed the 57% office average and the 58% national average. These figures provide a baseline for the statistical environment of your hearing, though they do not predict your specific outcome.
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 Lesperance'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 her 10 years on the bench, Judge Lesperance has presided over 19,425 decisions. Her approval trends have shown fluctuation, with a peak of 55% in 2020 followed by a period of lower rates in recent years. The most recent data indicates a rate of 49% in 2025, suggesting a return toward her long-term average after the lower figures observed in 2023. This pattern reflects the ongoing nature of her judicial work and the variability inherent in the cases assigned to her.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Lesperance'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 Lesperance? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Columbus hearing office
The Columbus Hearing Office serves a large population across Ohio, managing a high volume of SSDI cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a latest approval rate of 57%. You should be prepared for a thorough review of your medical records and vocational history. You can see the Columbus 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 Columbus Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 49% to 68%. Because you cannot choose your judge, understanding the office-wide environment is a standard part of hearing preparation.
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.