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Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · MI

Strong market

Michigan.

Roughly 66,212 new disability claims are filed in Michigan each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $91M annually.

Annual DDS intake

66,212

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

38.8%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

244 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$91M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

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

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Ambrose, ChristopherLANSING82.3%243
Turner, JoyDETROIT75.7%333
Chavez, RobertLIVONIA MI71.4%276
Raterink, Dennis JGRAND RAPIDS71.3%335
Ohanesian, NicholasSPECIAL REVIEW CADRE70.7%58

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • LANSING229 days
  • MT PLEASANT MI238 days
  • GRAND RAPIDS239 days

Slowest

  • FLINT270 days
  • LIVONIA MI245 days
  • DETROIT241 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.