Workers’ Compensation: Tips from 40 Years

JACK GOODCHILD, ESQ.

Encino, California

Last August I began the 41st year of my involvement in the litigation of workers’ compensation claims. In the course of those years I’ve learned a few things that would be helpful in pursuing a successful career in this field.

1. Everyone matters: Once you’ve graduated from law school and received your license to practice law, you might be tempted to think too much of yourself. Get over it. Everyone you have contact with, from the building janitors to the clerks to the vendors to the judges and staff and opposing counsel and doctors and their staff, deserve to be treated equally and with respect. The old saying that what goes around comes around rings true; courtesy and proper demeanor will go a long way in advancing your career. The people you deal with will remember how you have conducted yourself, and everyone talks to everyone else; it gets around.