Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime approval rate against current office and national benchmarks provides helpful perspective. Judge Templin's 81% lifetime approval rate is higher than the Oak Brook Hearing Office latest average of 57% and the national average of 58%. These figures are derived from a docket of 5,110 lifetime 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 Templin'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 a 4-year tenure, Judge Templin has presided over 5,110 lifetime decisions. The yearly trend shows an approval rate of 75% in 2016, 87% in 2017, 82% in 2018, and 74% in 2019. This trajectory reflects a consistent approach to evaluating disability evidence throughout your time on the bench. The recent period indicates that the judge's decision-making process remains steady.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Templin'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 Templin? See if a free benefits review fits your case.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Brook hearing office
The Oak Brook Hearing Office serves a significant population of claimants across Illinois, managing a high volume of disability cases. With a bench of 6 judges, the office operates under standard Social Security Administration hearing procedures. You can expect a formal environment where the quality of your medical evidence and vocational testimony remains the primary driver of your case outcome. You can visit the Oak Brook Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases through a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Within the Oak Brook Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates across the bench vary widely, ranging from 34% to 83%. Because every judge interprets evidence differently, understanding the office-wide environment is as important as looking at one specific judge.
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.