Approval rates
When evaluating your claim, it is helpful to look at how Judge Menard's approval rate compares to broader benchmarks. While the Manchester Hearing Office maintains a recent approval rate of 59%, Judge Menard’s latest period sits at 51%. This data is drawn from a significant career volume, providing a stable view of his decision-making history. 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 Menard'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 his 10 years on the bench, Judge Menard has presided over 18,946 lifetime decisions. His yearly trend shows a fluctuating pattern, with approval rates dipping to 42% in 2022 before climbing to 54% in 2025. This recent upward trajectory suggests a shift in the cases heard or the evidence presented in his courtroom. The latest period reflects a continuation of this recent trend toward higher approval outcomes.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Menard'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 Menard? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Manchester hearing office
The Manchester Hearing Office serves residents across New Hampshire, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains a recent approval rate of 59%, which is slightly above the national average. You should be prepared for a rigorous review of your medical documentation. You can see the Manchester 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. Across the Manchester Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates for the bench range from 46% to 64%. Because each judge has a unique approach to weighing medical evidence, understanding the office-wide environment is useful for your 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.