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Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · NC

Strong market

North Carolina.

Roughly 66,417 new disability claims are filed in North Carolina each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $92M annually.

Annual DDS intake

66,417

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

37.0%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

261 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$92M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

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

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
Asseff, Brent T.CHARLOTTE88.4%371
Spitz, MariaGREENSBORO85.7%307
Huggins, Randall D.CHARLOTTE85.5%296
Thawley, John AFAYETTEVILLE NC83.1%195
Ryerse, MaryCHARLOTTE82.7%313

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • CHARLOTTE247 days
  • RALEIGH259 days
  • GREENSBORO268 days

Slowest

  • FAYETTEVILLE NC271 days
  • GREENSBORO268 days
  • RALEIGH259 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.