Approval rates
Judge Lewald's approval rate is calculated from a docket of 2,258 lifetime decisions. When compared to the latest reporting period, her performance sits 8 points above the Long Beach office average and slightly above both state and national benchmarks. These figures offer a baseline for understanding the local hearing environment. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
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 Lewald'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
Throughout her tenure, Judge Lewald has maintained a consistent approval pattern. With 2,258 total decisions, her record shows a steady commitment to the evaluation of medical and vocational evidence. The data from her most recent reporting period aligns with her historical performance, suggesting a stable decision-making style. This consistency allows for better preparation, as the patterns observed in her past rulings remain a reliable indicator of her judicial approach.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Lewald'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 Lewald? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Long Beach hearing office
The Long Beach Hearing Office serves a large population of claimants across Southern California. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a collective focus on processing complex medical evidence. You can expect a formal environment where the quality of documentation is paramount to a successful outcome. You can visit the Long Beach 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 Judge Lewald is essentially random. Within the Long Beach office, the bench is diverse, with lifetime approval rates for the office's 6 ALJs ranging from 29% to 72%. Because of this variance, understanding the broader office environment is as important as looking at any single judge. For preparation purposes, the guidance is the same 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.