Market opportunity · PA
Strong marketPennsylvania.
Roughly 83,847 new disability claims are filed in Pennsylvania each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $116M annually.
83,847
Initial claims / year
38.0%
Nat'l: 39.8%
272 days
Nat'l hearing: 365 days
$116M
Annualized · retention × cap
01 · Bench
Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.
Judges currently on the bench in Pennsylvania hearing offices, sorted by favorable decision rate. Use these to prioritize which office a case is assigned to, where permissible.
| ALJ | Office | Approval | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grovich, Christopher P. | SEVEN FIELDS | 78.4% | 375 |
| Kooser, John | SEVEN FIELDS | 77.4% | 403 |
| Schwarz, Eric | ELKINS PARK | 76.0% | 308 |
| Tenenbaum, Melissa | SEVEN FIELDS | 74.7% | 217 |
| Gauffreau, Stuart | ELKINS PARK | 74.5% | 372 |
02 · Offices
Hearing-office timing.
Fastest
- SEVEN FIELDS247 days
- JOHNSTOWN258 days
- PHILADELPHIA265 days
Slowest
- PHILADELPHIA EAST293 days
- HARRISBURG281 days
- PITTSBURGH281 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.