Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance to current benchmarks provides context for your upcoming hearing. Judge Williams has maintained a 28% lifetime approval rate, which sits below the latest national average of 58%. While the recent approval rate of 36% shows a shift, it remains below the Hattiesburg Hearing Office average of 48%. These figures reflect historical trends rather than specific outcomes for your case.
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 Williams'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 10-year tenure and 18,331 lifetime decisions, Judge Williams has maintained a consistent pattern of adjudication. Yearly approval rates fluctuated between 23% and 35% for most of this period. The latest reporting period shows a 36% approval rate, which represents a divergence from the long-term average. This recent uptick may reflect changes in case mix or evidence quality.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Williams'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 Williams? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Hattiesburg hearing office
The Hattiesburg Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Mississippi and the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a significant volume of disability claims. The office currently reports a latest-period approval rate of 48%, which provides a baseline for local outcomes. You can visit the Hattiesburg Hearing Office page for the full ALJ roster.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration assigns cases using a workload-balancing algorithm, meaning your assignment is essentially random. Across the Hattiesburg Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the 6 judges range from 25% to 63%. Because each judge has a unique approach to evidence, understanding the office-wide landscape is helpful for your preparation.
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.