Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate to current office and national benchmarks provides a useful perspective on their decision history. Judge Pellegrino has maintained a 55% lifetime approval rate over her 8 years on the bench, supported by a volume of 14,351 lifetime decisions. While her latest period shows a 60% approval rate, these figures are best viewed as a probability cloud rather than a guarantee. 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 Pellegrino'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 8-year tenure, Judge Pellegrino has seen her approval rates shift, moving from 46% in 2018 to a peak of 70% in 2023 before reaching 62% in 2025. This trend shows a period of increased allowance rates mid-career, followed by a return toward her lifetime average. The latest reporting period shows a 60% approval rate, which remains consistent with her long-term trajectory. These fluctuations often reflect changes in the complexity of cases or the quality of evidence presented in the San Francisco docket.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Pellegrino'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 Pellegrino? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the San Francisco hearing office
The San Francisco Hearing Office serves a diverse population across Northern California, managing a high volume of SSDI and SSI claims. The office currently operates with a bench of 6 judges, maintaining an office-wide approval rate that reflects the regional caseload. You can see the San Francisco Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The SSA assigns cases to judges using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Within the San Francisco Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench vary significantly, ranging from 38% to 66%. Because you cannot choose your judge, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence. 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.