All markets
Updated June 2026 · SSA Public

Market opportunity · TN

Strong market

Tennessee.

Roughly 49,446 new disability claims are filed in Tennessee each year. At a 20% retention rate and a conservative $6,900 fee per retained case, the addressable fee pool is approximately $68M annually.

Annual DDS intake

49,446

Initial claims / year

DDS approval

33.7%

Nat'l: 39.8%

Avg office wait

255 days

Nat'l hearing: 365 days

Fee pool (est.)

$68M

Annualized · retention × cap

01 · Bench

Top 5 ALJs by approval rate.

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

ALJOfficeApprovalDecisions
McHenry, LauraATLANTA DOWNTOWN89.8%127
Case, JohnCHATTANOOGA86.8%333
Thompson, MichelleLOS ANGELES DOWNTOWN86.6%298
Hogan, Gentry C.M.KINGSPORT76.2%101
Jones, Stephanie MKNOXVILLE75.2%109

02 · Offices

Hearing-office timing.

Fastest

  • KINGSPORT229 days
  • FRANKLIN TN235 days
  • NASHVILLE237 days

Slowest

  • MEMPHIS289 days
  • CHATTANOOGA271 days
  • KNOXVILLE268 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.