The Roundtable of All Roundtables: What You Should Be Appealing to Federal Court and How to Develop It – NOSSCR 2026 Fall National Conference – Track I (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

Kevin S. Kerr, Senior Partner | Kerr Robichaux & Carroll

Kevin S. Kerr has practiced Social Security Disability law since 2009.

• Education & Credentials

He earned his law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School and is a member of the Oregon State Bar.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to represent veterans on claims for compensation and pension benefits and is a member of the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates.

• Professional Involvement

He has presented at NOSSCR national conferences, including sessions on overcoming res judicata, Step Four practice, and Appeals Council strategy.

• Experience

He is a circuit representative for NOSSCR and has appeared in over 3,000 Social Security Administrative Law Judge hearings and has handled hundreds of Federal Court appeals in Oregon, Washington, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sara Rose Carroll, Managing Partner | Kerr Robichaux & Carroll

Sara has been a managing partner at Kerr Robichaux & Carroll since 2018.

• Education & Credentials

She earned her B.A. in English and Professional Writing from Appalachian State University in 2006 and her Juris Doctor from the Charleston School of Law in 2011 and was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 2014. She is a member of the Multnomah County Bar Association and Oregon Women Lawyers.

• Recognition & Leadership

She holds accreditation from the Department of Veterans Affairs to represent veterans on claims for compensation and pension benefits.

• Professional Involvement

She’s enjoyed presenting at many NOSSCR presentations over the last several years. She hopes you will gather a lot of practical information from this session that you can incorporate into your everyday practice.

• Experience

She represents disability claimants at Social Security hearings, where she questions the agency’s vocational and medical experts and holds their testimony to her clients’ documented medical histories.

SESSION 1 – The Roundtable of All Roundtables: What You Should Be Appealing to Federal Court and How to Develop It | 12:15pm – 1:15pm

In the Circuit Roundtables, we often focus on the issues that people are litigating in the circuit and the useful existing precedential cases, but what if you want to make new law in your circuit and bring a novel issue? We will focus on the issues that are winning in various circuits and the ways you can develop the issues for appeal so that you can be the attorney to win, for example, the first case on reasoning level in your circuit. We will also examine what wins in Federal Court on vocational issues and job number issues.