Market opportunity · CA
Strong marketCalifornia.
Roughly 186,857 new disability claims are filed in California each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $258M annually.
186,857
Initial claims / year
39.0%
Nat'l: 39.8%
278 days
Nat'l hearing: 365 days
$258M
Annualized · retention × cap
01 · Bench
Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.
Judges currently on the bench in California hearing offices, sorted by favorable decision rate. Use these to prioritize which office a case is assigned to, where permissible.
| ALJ | Office | Approval | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masterson, Aubri G | SANTA BARBARA | 91.2% | 228 |
| Engel, David | TULSA OHO | 90.6% | 191 |
| Thompson, Michelle | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 86.6% | 328 |
| Irias, Sigrid | LOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN | 81.9% | 171 |
| Villere, Plauche F. | SACRAMENTO | 80.0% | 420 |
02 · Offices
Hearing-office timing.
Fastest
- SAN BERNARDINO242 days
- SACRAMENTO254 days
- LONG BEACH257 days
Slowest
- FRESNO357 days
- SAN DIEGO303 days
- SANTA BARBARA294 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.