Approval rates
Comparing approval rates requires looking at consistent timeframes. While your judge's overall approval rate on record is 46% since 2017, his latest-period approval rate of 47% sits 9 points below the Philadelphia office's latest-period rate of 56%. These figures are derived from a docket of 3,103 decisions. 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 Ryan'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
Since 2017, your judge's approval rate has shown a varied trend. After an initial 58% approval rate in 2018, the figures shifted to 44% in 2019 and have remained between 42% and 48% in subsequent years. With 3,103 total decisions on record, your judge's recent activity shows a 47% approval rate for the latest period.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Ryan'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.
About the Philadelphia hearing office
Robert J. Ryan's most recent office on record is the Philadelphia Hearing Office, as of July 2026. This office serves you and other claimants across the Pennsylvania region and maintains a bench of 14 judges. The office-wide latest-period approval rate is 56%.
Other judges whose most recent office on record is Philadelphia
The Social Security Administration uses a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. There are 14 judges whose most recent office on record is this one. Approval rates among this bench range from 42% to 78% on their records since 2016.
Approval rates change with a lawyer
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.
Frequently asked questions
Robert J. Ryan has an approval rate of 46% since 2017. This sits within the broader range of 42% to 78% observed among the 14 judges whose most recent office on record is Philadelphia. An attorney can help you prepare for the specific requirements of this hearing office.
The approval rate for Robert J. Ryan has fluctuated since 2017, starting at 58% in 2018 and stabilizing between 42% and 48% in recent years. Understanding these trends can be helpful when preparing your case. An attorney can help you evaluate how your evidence aligns with these historical patterns.
No, you cannot request a specific judge. The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm to ensure efficiency. Because assignment is random, it is vital to have your case fully prepared regardless of who is assigned. An attorney can help you build your case.
An approval rate is a probability cloud based on past decisions, not a prediction for your specific hearing. While Robert J. Ryan has a 46% approval rate on record, the outcome of your case depends primarily on the medical evidence and testimony you provide. An attorney can help you build the strongest possible case for your hearing.
