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Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · MT

Strong market

Montana.

Roughly 5,791 new disability claims are filed in Montana each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $8M annually.

Annual DDS intake

5,791

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

37.8%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

278 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$8M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

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

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Kurbegov, SashaDENVER76.1%176
Dvarishkis, TanyaBILLINGS71.0%283
Kays, JohnBILLINGS64.0%225
Brennan, LukeBILLINGS62.1%309
O'Brien-Persons, WynneRENO61.3%75

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • BILLINGS278 days

Slowest

  • BILLINGS278 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.