Who’s Doing the Work? The Ethical Supervision of Staff, Contractors, and Robots – 2026 Spring National Conference – Track II (Presented by National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives)

Kevin S. Kerr, Esq., Senior Partner | Kerr Robichaux & Carroll Law Office

Kevin S. Kerr is the senior partner at Kerr Robichaux & Carroll Law Office, a Social Security disability firm representing claimants at all levels throughout the western states. He has practiced in Social Security disability law since 2009 and has personally appeared at more than 4,000 Social Security administrative law judge hearings, one of the highest hearing volumes in the disability bar. He has also handled hundreds of federal court appeals in Oregon, Washington, and the Ninth Circuit. In addition to his disability practice, Kevin represents veterans and is a member of the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates. He currently serves as a NOSSCR Board Member representing the Ninth Circuit and has presented nine times at the NOSSCR National Conference alongside his partner, Sara Rose Carroll.

Education & Credentials

• Kevin is a licensed attorney who has concentrated his practice in Social Security disability law since 2009, building credentials defined by an extraordinary volume of hearing and appellate experience across the western United States. His membership in the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates reflects an additional accreditation that authorizes and recognizes his representation of veterans in benefits matters. His Ninth Circuit federal court practice, his 4,000-plus ALJ hearing appearances, and his NOSSCR Board service reflect a practitioner whose credentials are grounded in sustained, high-volume, multi-jurisdictional engagement with the disability adjudication system at every level. (Specific academic credentials are not included in the provided biography.)

Recognition & Leadership

• Kevin serves as a NOSSCR Board Member representing the Ninth Circuit, a leadership role that places him among the national voices shaping policy and practice standards for Social Security claimants’ representatives across the country. His nine NOSSCR National Conference presentations reflect a sustained commitment to professional education at the highest level of the disability bar. His volume of more than 4,000 ALJ hearing appearances, combined with his hundreds of federal court appeals across Oregon, Washington, and the Ninth Circuit, represents a career achievement that few practitioners in any region can match and one that speaks directly to the depth of trust his clients and colleagues place in his advocacy.

Professional Involvement

• Kevin’s professional involvement spans NOSSCR board governance, national conference speaking, veterans’ advocacy, and firm leadership. As NOSSCR’s Ninth Circuit Board Member, he represents the interests of western states practitioners at the national level while contributing to the organization’s leadership and policy work. As a member of the National Organization of Veterans’ Advocates, he extends his disability expertise to veterans navigating the benefits system. His nine NOSSCR conference presentations, delivered alongside Sara Rose Carroll, reflect a deep investment in sharing the practical knowledge his high-volume practice has generated with practitioners across the country.

Experience

• Since beginning his Social Security disability practice in 2009, Kevin Kerr has accumulated one of the most substantial hearing and appellate records in the western disability bar. More than 4,000 ALJ hearing appearances and hundreds of federal court appeals across Oregon, Washington, and the Ninth Circuit represent a body of practical experience that spans every complexity and nuance the Social Security disability process presents. As senior partner at Kerr Robichaux & Carroll, he has built a firm that represents claimants throughout the western states, a regional reach that reflects both organizational capacity and deep geographic expertise. His veterans’ representation work, his NOSSCR board service, and his nine national conference presentations complete a picture of a practitioner as invested in the profession as in his own caseload.

Sara Rose Carroll, Esq., Partner | Kerr Robichaux & Carroll Law Office

Sara Rose Carroll has been a partner at Kerr Robichaux & Carroll Law Office since 2018, where she represents Social Security disability claimants throughout the western states. An experienced hearing advocate and thoughtful practitioner, Sara brings a distinctive philosophy to her work: her primary goal as a disability attorney is to make her clients real to the judges who decide their cases, ensuring that the human dimensions of disability are never lost in the mechanics of the adjudication process. She has presented nine times at the NOSSCR National Conference alongside her partner, Kevin S. Kerr, establishing herself as a recognized national voice in the Social Security disability community.

Education & Credentials

• Sara is a licensed attorney and partner at one of the western states’ leading Social Security disability firms, with years of experience representing claimants at the administrative hearing level and beyond. Her nine NOSSCR national conference presentations reflect a substantive expertise in Social Security disability law and practice that her colleagues across the country have consistently sought out. Her philosophy of making clients real to judges, grounding legal advocacy in the full human context of each claimant’s life and limitations, reflects a sophisticated and empathetic approach to hearing advocacy that defines her practice. (Specific academic credentials are not included in the provided biography.)

Recognition & Leadership

• Sara’s nine presentations at the NOSSCR National Conference reflect consistent recognition of her expertise and her ability to communicate meaningfully with practitioners at the highest level of the disability bar. Her partnership at Kerr Robichaux & Carroll since 2018 reflects the professional trust her firm and clients place in her advocacy. Her distinctive practice philosophy, centered on making clients real to judges, has resonated with practitioners across the country who recognize that the most technically sound cases are won when adjudicators connect with the human beings behind the medical records and work histories.

Professional Involvement

• Sara is an active contributor to the national Social Security disability community through her speaking at NOSSCR national conferences, where she has presented nine times alongside Kevin Kerr. Her engagement reflects a practitioner who invests not only in her own clients but in the broader practice community, sharing insights from her hearing advocacy work and her approach to humanizing the claimant experience before administrative law judges. Her role as a partner at Kerr Robichaux & Carroll also involves mentoring and shaping the firm’s approach to client representation across the western states.

Experience

• Sara Rose Carroll has been a partner at Kerr Robichaux & Carroll since 2018, developing a practice grounded in extensive hearing experience and a deeply held commitment to humanistic advocacy. She approaches each case with the conviction that effective disability representation requires more than technical mastery of the Social Security rules, it requires helping judges see and understand the real person whose life is affected by the outcome. That philosophy, combined with her command of disability law and procedure, has made her an effective advocate for her clients and a compelling voice at nine NOSSCR national conferences. Her career reflects a practitioner who brings intellectual rigor and genuine empathy to every hearing, brief, and professional presentation she undertakes.

I. Who’s Doing the Work? The Ethical Supervision of Staff, Contractors, and Robots | 4:00pm – 5:15pm

We will discuss the ethical rules and considerations for delegating work to associate attorneys, legal assistants, outside third-party contractors, and robots/A.I.