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Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · MS

Strong market

Mississippi.

Roughly 27,354 new disability claims are filed in Mississippi each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $38M annually.

Annual DDS intake

27,354

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

36.4%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

230 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$38M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

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

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Elkins, James SHATTIESBURG86.2%385
Mashburn, ShannonTUPELO75.6%336
Jones, BrianHATTIESBURG72.3%130
Stroud, Larry J.JACKSON MS OHO70.3%316
DeGruy, ElizabethJACKSON MS OHO62.6%139

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • JACKSON MS OHO215 days
  • TUPELO236 days
  • HATTIESBURG238 days

Slowest

  • HATTIESBURG238 days
  • TUPELO236 days
  • JACKSON MS OHO215 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.