Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate to broader benchmarks provides context for your hearing. Judge Seeley maintains a 42% approval rate, which contrasts with the 53% office average and the 58% national average. These statistics are derived from 3,994 lifetime decisions, offering a stable view of her judicial 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 Seeley'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 3 years on the bench, Judge Seeley has maintained a consistent decision pattern. Her annual approval rates have remained steady, moving from 42% in 2016 to 44% in 2017, before settling at 41% in 2018. This stability suggests a predictable approach to evaluating your disability claim. The latest period reflects a continuation of this steady pattern, indicating that her evidentiary requirements have remained largely unchanged throughout her tenure.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Seeley'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 Seeley? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Buffalo hearing office
The Buffalo Hearing Office serves a significant population across New York, managing a high volume of disability claims with a bench of 6 judges. The office currently reports an approval rate of 53%, reflecting regional trends in disability adjudication. You can expect a formal process focused on your medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can visit the Buffalo 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. Within the Buffalo Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 42% to 54%. This variation highlights the importance of focusing on the merits of your own medical evidence. 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.