Approval rates
Comparing a judge's performance requires looking at both lifetime averages and recent trends. Over 9 years on the bench, Latanya White Richards has maintained a 60% approval rate, providing a sample size of 16,577 decisions. While her latest reporting period shows a 68% approval rate, this should be viewed against the broader New York Varick office average of 71%. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
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 Richards'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
The career of Latanya White Richards shows a clear evolution in decision patterns. After starting with a 62% approval rate in 2017, the rate dipped in the following years before trending upward, reaching 69% in 2024. This shift reflects evolving evidentiary standards over her 16,577 lifetime decisions. The recent period reflects a continuation of this steady, upward-trending pattern.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Richards'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 Richards? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the New York Varick hearing office
The New York Varick Hearing Office serves a large population across the New York region, managing a high volume of disability claims. With a bench of 6 judges, the office maintains an environment where approval rates fluctuate based on the specific evidence presented in each case. You can expect a rigorous review process that prioritizes medical documentation and vocational testimony. You can see the New York Varick 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 New York Varick Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 43% to 83%. Because every judge operates with different preferences for evidence presentation, the variance across the office is standard. You can find more information on the office's general operations on the New York Varick Hearing Office page.
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.