Approval rates
Comparing a judge's approval rate to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Lisewski's lifetime rate of 49% is evaluated against the current South Jersey office average of 70% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a significant docket of 15,006 lifetime decisions, offering a stable look at historical trends. 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 Lisewski'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 7 years on the bench, Judge Lisewski has demonstrated a steady decision-making pattern. While your judge's approval rates saw a notable peak in 2021 at 57%, the trend returned to 43% in 2022. This variation is common in high-volume hearing offices and often reflects changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of medical evidence presented. Your judge's career history across 5 different offices shows a consistent approach to the adjudication of disability claims.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Lisewski'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 Lisewski? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the South Jersey hearing office
The South Jersey Hearing Office serves a diverse population across New Jersey, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an office-wide latest approval rate of 70%. You can expect a formal hearing environment where the focus remains on the specific medical documentation supporting your claim. You can see the South Jersey 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 the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the South Jersey Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 49% to 76%. This variance highlights why focusing on the strength of your own medical evidence is the most effective strategy. 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.