Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance to broader benchmarks provides helpful context for your upcoming hearing. Laura G. McHenry has maintained an 80% approval rate over 12,539 lifetime decisions, which stands in contrast to the current 64% approval rate at the Atlanta Downtown office and the 58% national average. These statistics are derived from a large docket, offering a stable view of historical trends. 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 McHenry'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 9 years on the bench, Laura G. McHenry has demonstrated a consistent approach to disability adjudication. Her yearly approval trends show a rise from 68% in 2018 to a recent 84% in 2025. The latest reporting period, which shows an 88% approval rate, reflects a continuation of this high-approval trend. This pattern suggests that the judge remains focused on evaluating the merits of each claim within the established regulatory framework.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge McHenry'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 McHenry? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Check My BenefitsAbout the Atlanta Downtown hearing office
The Atlanta Downtown Hearing Office serves a large population in Georgia, managing a high volume of SSDI claims. With an office-wide latest approval rate of 64%, it operates as a critical hub for regional disability determinations. You can expect a rigorous review of your medical records and vocational history. You can visit the Atlanta Downtown 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. Across the Atlanta Downtown office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 23% to 80%. This variance highlights why understanding the general environment of your hearing office is useful. 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.