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Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · AZ

Strong market

Arizona.

Roughly 40,572 new disability claims are filed in Arizona each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $56M annually.

Annual DDS intake

40,572

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

33.5%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

306 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$56M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

Judges currently on the bench in Arizona hearing offices, sorted by favorable decision rate. Use these to prioritize which office a case is assigned to, where permissible.

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Johnson, Larry ETUCSON84.8%270
Suing, TimothyHOUSTON WEST77.3%22
Armbruster, TedPHOENIX NORTH75.9%257
Davis, CharlesTUCSON75.5%302
Gaffney, JohnPHOENIX DOWNTOWN75.4%350

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • PHOENIX DOWNTOWN273 days
  • TUCSON296 days
  • PHOENIX NORTH350 days

Slowest

  • PHOENIX NORTH350 days
  • TUCSON296 days
  • PHOENIX DOWNTOWN273 days

Methodology · Figures reflect SSA public data through the latest release. Fee pool estimates annualize DDS intake at a conservative 20% retention rate with a 75% cap hit on retained backpay — not a performance guarantee. Approval rates describe historical decisions, not likelihoods on individual cases.