Voice from th­­e Chair

June 2025

By Kia Myers Holsey
Chair of the California Lawyers Association, Workers’ Compensation Section
Executive Committee

The California Lawyers Association Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee has had a busy start to the first half of 2025. Drawing from a dedicated cross-section of volunteer judges and attorneys from across the state, the executive committee members and advisors plan and present a variety of programs and initiatives throughout the year designed to advance our mission which seeks to promote better legal practice, education and legislation affecting workers’ compensation. This year has been no exception.

The CLA Workers’ Compensation section has recently held two sold out continuing legal education events in Oakland and San Jose. Entitled “Tech Talk,” the events brought together panels of esteemed jurists to discuss the latest technological advances impacting our day-to-day practice at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. The events also provided a venue where attendees enjoyed a delicious meal among their colleagues of workers’ compensation professionals. I would like to thank Judge Therese DaSilva for her hard work with organizing the judges, PowerPoint and WCAB approvals for the presentations. The events would not have been successful without her efforts.

We have scheduled a “Tech Talk” in the Los Angeles area on July 31, 2025. Another “Tech Talk” event is also being planned for the San Diego area. We encourage all of our members and the greater workers’ comp community to join us at these upcoming events. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Look out for additional information. If interested, please also contact our section manager, Tiffany Creswell, at WorkersComp@calawyers.org.

I would also like to highlight the work of our Published Opinions subcommittee who successfully petitioned the California Court of Appeal to publish its recently issued opinion in the case of Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Bd. (Zeber). This is followed by an excellent analysis of the Zeber case by John Kamin, a partner at Bradford & Barthel and a frequent contributing author to the CLA WC Enews. 

To keep you up to date on the latest important decisions of the WCAB, we also provide an excellent article by John Kamin and Louis Larres on the recent WCAB En Banc decision in Abel Vasquez vs. Inocensio Renteria; Zenith Insurance Co., 5/19/2025, 90 Cal. Comp Cases, unassigned, which deals with the frequently litigated issue of replacement PQME panels. 

Our executive committee members volunteer their time to mentor students and encourage them to choose a career in the workers’ compensation field. An example of this occurred earlier this year when our community outreach subcommittee members James Witkop and Saro Kerkonian participated in Southwestern Law School’s annual Succeeding in Law Event. 

Recently, a new edition of the Work Comp Quarterly was published. Hopefully, you received a copy, either digitally or a physical copy. If you did not receive a copy and believe you should have, please contact Tiffany Creswell at her email address above.

The executive committee members and advisors will convene their quarterly meeting in Monterey where new applicants to the executive committee will be chosen, additional events and activities will be planned and the subcommittee leaders will update the committee on the work of their respective committees.

Thank you for reading this edition of the eNews. If you are a member of the CLA Workers’ Compensation Section, I am grateful for your support of the work of our section. If you are not a member, I hope you will consider joining or renewing your membership to receive all the benefits that come with your annual dues payment. Please click the attached link to join and for more information on the benefits that members in the CLA provides. Finally, I hope you will attend one of our many events and webinars scheduled throughout the year where I look forward to the pleasure of meeting you. Wishing you a wonderful summer!