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Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · LA

Strong market

Louisiana.

Roughly 37,828 new disability claims are filed in Louisiana each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $52M annually.

Annual DDS intake

37,828

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

37.2%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

268 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$52M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

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

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Abbondondelo, MarySHREVEPORT87.0%261
Volz, Louis JNEW ORLEANS85.0%60
Molinar, KathleenALEXANDRIA69.5%321
Smilie, CarolynALEXANDRIA67.6%293
Grant, RobertALEXANDRIA67.5%323

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • ALEXANDRIA236 days
  • METAIRIE242 days
  • NEW ORLEANS272 days

Slowest

  • SHREVEPORT321 days
  • NEW ORLEANS272 days
  • METAIRIE242 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.