Functional Equivalency Mastery: Using Evidence and SSRs to Build Stronger Childhood Claims – 2026 Spring National Conference – Track II (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

Katherine Courtney, JD, MSW, Senior Statewide Support Attorney, Disability Advocacy Program | Empire Justice Center

Katherine (Katie) Courtney is a Senior Statewide Support Attorney in the Disability Advocacy Program at Empire Justice Center, a role she returned to in 2024 after a distinguished career spanning legal aid, federal adjudication, and the federal courts. Admitted to the New York State Bar in 2007, Katie has served in the Empire Justice Center’s Disability Advocacy Program, as an Attorney Advisor at the SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, and as a law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. Her dual JD/MSW from the University at Buffalo equips her with both the legal and social work perspectives that define effective, holistic disability advocacy. She is a past president of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys and the Foundation of the Monroe County Bar Association.

• Education & Credentials

Katie holds a dual JD/MSW from the University at Buffalo — a combination that reflects her commitment to approaching disability advocacy from both a legal and a human services perspective. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2007. Her credentials include not only her academic and bar qualifications but also the institutional experience she gained as an Attorney Advisor at the SSA’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review and as a federal court law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York — perspectives that give her rare insight into how Social Security disability cases are evaluated at both the administrative and judicial levels.

• Recognition & Leadership

Katie has served as president of both the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys and the Foundation of the Monroe County Bar Association — two leadership roles that reflect her standing in the Western New York legal community and her commitment to advancing the profession. Her career path through legal aid, federal SSA adjudication, and a federal district court clerkship is itself a mark of distinction, demonstrating a practitioner who has earned the trust of institutions across the spectrum of Social Security disability law. Her return to Empire Justice Center in 2024 as a Senior Statewide Support Attorney reflects the organization’s recognition of her exceptional depth and breadth of experience.

• Professional Involvement

Katie’s professional involvement spans direct disability advocacy, federal adjudication, judicial clerkship, and bar association leadership. At Empire Justice Center, she provides statewide support to disability advocates and attorneys across New York, leveraging her inside knowledge of both SSA’s adjudication processes and the federal courts. Her prior role as an Attorney Advisor at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review gives her a perspective on the SSA decision-making process that few advocates possess, and her federal clerkship adds a judicial lens that informs her approach to appellate and impact work. Her leadership in the Rochester legal community further demonstrates a career defined by engagement beyond the casebook.

• Experience

Katie Courtney’s career charts an unusually rich course through Social Security disability law. She began at Empire Justice Center’s Disability Advocacy Program, then moved inside the SSA as an Attorney Advisor at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review — gaining firsthand knowledge of how the agency evaluates and decides disability claims. She then clerked for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, adding a federal judicial perspective to her already multifaceted background. In 2024, she returned to Empire Justice as a Senior Statewide Support Attorney, bringing that accumulated institutional knowledge to bear in support of disability advocates and claimants across New York State. Her dual JD/MSW and her leadership in the Rochester bar community round out a career of exceptional depth, range, and impact.

Jennifer Burdick, Esq., Divisional Supervising Attorney, SSI Unit | Community Legal Services

Jennifer Burdick is the Divisional Supervising Attorney of the SSI Unit at Community Legal Services (CLS) in Philadelphia, where she represents adults and children facing challenges attaining and maintaining Supplemental Security Income benefits in administrative hearings and federal court. She also advocates nationally for systemic reforms to improve and stabilize the lives of individuals with disabilities. Prior to joining CLS, Jennifer worked at Dechert LLP and clerked for Judge Van Antwerpen on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

• Education & Credentials

Jennifer is a licensed attorney whose credentials include a Third Circuit Court of Appeals clerkship under Judge Van Antwerpen and private practice experience at Dechert LLP — a large national law firm — before she transitioned to public interest work at Community Legal Services. Her clerkship on the Third Circuit provided appellate training of the highest order, and her Dechert experience gave her exposure to sophisticated federal litigation practice. Both inform her current work as a supervising attorney handling complex SSI matters in administrative and federal court proceedings. (Specific academic credentials are not included in the provided biography.)

• Recognition & Leadership

Jennifer’s elevation to Divisional Supervising Attorney at Community Legal Services — one of the country’s most respected legal aid organizations — reflects her expertise, leadership ability, and commitment to the SSI population she serves. Her prior clerkship with Judge Van Antwerpen on the Third Circuit is a mark of professional distinction, and her decision to bring that appellate pedigree to public interest advocacy at CLS reflects a commitment to access to justice that defines her career. Her national advocacy for systemic SSI reforms further demonstrates a practitioner who engages the disability benefits system at both the individual and policy levels.

• Professional Involvement

In addition to supervising the SSI Unit at CLS, Jennifer engages in national advocacy for systemic reforms affecting individuals with disabilities who rely on Supplemental Security Income. This policy-level engagement complements her direct representation work and reflects a practitioner who understands that durable improvements in the lives of SSI recipients require change both at the individual case level and in the broader legal and regulatory framework. Her career arc — from Third Circuit clerkship to large-firm practice to public interest leadership — brings a distinctive analytical rigor and strategic breadth to her advocacy at CLS.

• Experience

Jennifer Burdick’s legal career moves from the heights of appellate court and large-firm practice to the front lines of public interest advocacy. She clerked for Judge Van Antwerpen on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit before joining Dechert LLP, where she gained experience in federal litigation at one of the country’s leading law firms. She subsequently joined Community Legal Services, where she now serves as Divisional Supervising Attorney of the SSI Unit — representing adults and children seeking and maintaining SSI benefits in administrative hearings and federal court, while also advocating at the national level for systemic reforms to the SSI program. Her career reflects the rare practitioner who channels elite legal training into sustained, mission-driven advocacy for some of the most economically vulnerable individuals in the country.

I. Functional Equivalency Mastery: Using Evidence and SSRs to Build Stronger Childhood Claims | 4:30pm – 5:45pm

This session is designed for representatives and attorneys who already understand the basics of childhood SSI cases and want to strengthen their functional equivalency advocacy. The training focuses on identifying the most persuasive evidence for each of the six functional domains, drawing from medical records, school documentation, teacher reports, behavioral data, and caregiver observations and shows how to apply the SSR 09-series and related rulings to build stronger, more precise arguments. With case examples, attendees will see how to translate SSR guidance into clear, persuasive briefing and hearing strategies.