Workers’ Compensation
Ca. Workers' Comp. Quarterly Vol. 35, No. 2, 2022
Content
- 2022 Workers' Compensation Special Recognition Awards
- In This Issue
- Litigating Third Party Credits at the WCAB
- Note from the Editors
- PEOs: How to Prosecute and Defend Cases Involving Employee Leasing Agreements
- See's Candies v. Superior Court of California: Defining the Limits of the Exclusive Remedy Doctrine in Workers' Compensation
- The Manuel Case: Is Immigration Status Relevant to Liability in Civil Proceedings, Including Workers' Compensation?
- When Does a Court of Appeal Have Jurisdiction over a WCAB Decision?
- Workers' Compensation Section 2022-2023 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ROSTER
- Practice Long and Prosper: A Manifesto for the Workers' Comp Community
Practice Long and Prosper: A Manifesto for the Workers’ Comp Community
JULIUS YOUNG, ESQ.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
The California workers’ compensation community has been undergoing a major transition. The Covid pandemic altered many aspects of practicing workers’ comp law. A significant number of attorneys now work either partly or fully remotely. With most depositions online and conferences held telephonically, clients and opposing counsel interact in person less often. Attorneys in the same firm may be working remotely and rarely interacting with each other. Some applicant and defense attorneys have noted they are encountering more opposing attorneys from far ends of the state. This means that applicant and defense counsel are less likely than before the pandemic to know each other well. All of these factors affect the culture of practicing workers’ comp law.
Further, there has been a slow but steady generational shift as boomer-era attorneys and judges retire from the system, and mentoring less experienced attorneys has become more challenging. There’s less likelihood of meeting fellow firm members at the office water cooler or having lunch together. Attorneys are not bumping into colleagues at the WCAB since they are seldom there.