2025 Special Recognition Award Recipients

New Lawyer of the Year: Alicia Villanueva

Alicia Villanueva is an associate attorney at Viadro Law, LLP. She has a workers’ compensation and personal injury law practice. 

While and prior to obtaining her law degree, Ms. Villanueva worked at Viadro Law, LLP (formerly Butler Viadro Law, LLP) as a workers’ compensation paralegal among other roles. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Golden Gate School of Law (J.D. 12/19) with honors. At Golden Gate Law, she participated in the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic, advocating for clients’ rights in the areas of employment law, wage and hour, and discrimination law. She was also a part of the Golden Gate Law Review Journal. 

Before law school, Ms. Villanueva earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Women and Gender Studies from Saint Mary’s College of California (B.A. 2011). During her undergraduate education, she also studied abroad in Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. Ms. Villanueva was born and raised in Yuba City, California. Her parents have been the biggest influence in her life. They emigrated from Mexico to the United States and have worked as farm laborers for decades. As a child, Ms. Villanueva would at times work with her parents when not in school. That experience and her parents’ efforts instilled in her a strong work ethic and a passion for advocacy for those without power.

AA of the Year: Maria Grasso, Boxer Law

A passionate advocate for underserved communities, Maria Antonieta Grasso (formerly Sager) has dedicated her 22-year career to representing injured workers and advancing equity within the legal profession.

Maria is a partner with Boxer & Gerson, LLP, where she is known for her commitment to both legal excellence and public service. Fluent in Spanish and conversational in Italian, she has worked extensively with immigrant communities—including serving as Attorney Consultant to the San Francisco Mexican Consulate and collaborating with consulates from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras to educate their constituents on California labor rights.

She is a Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board Pro Tem Judge in Oakland and a Workers’ Compensation Certified Specialist by the State Bar of California.  Maria served seven years on the Executive Committee of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the California Lawyers Association (CLA), where she held the role of Chair from 2018 to 2019. She also chaired the Latino Symposium of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association (CAAA), bringing together hundreds of legal professionals to explore ways to better protect California workers.

An outspoken advocate for diversity and inclusion in the legal field, Maria published an article in the American Bar Association Journal titled “How Law Firms Can Increase Diversity Among Equity Partners” (September 10, 2020).

Maria’s community involvement includes eight years on the Board of Directors for Centro Legal de la Raza, where she served three years as Chair. She currently advises Centro’s Youth Law Academy, helping disadvantaged Oakland students pursue higher education and careers in law. With the support of Boxer & Gerson, she has mentored college interns at the firm for nearly a decade.

Since 2010, Maria has co-organized the Workers’ Compensation Toy Drive Reception, a popular annual event that supports thousands of Oakland children during the holidays. This year’s event will take place on Thursday, December 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Rotunda Building in Oakland. Community members and professionals are encouraged to attend and support the cause.

Reflecting on her career, Maria says: “I will forever be grateful to Boxer & Gerson for supporting and encouraging me to grow professionally from day one. I’ve had—and will continue to have—a fulfilling career because of this incredibly special law firm.”

DA of the Year: John Kamin

John P. Kamin was born and raised in Woodland Hills, California. He graduated from Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills and attended the University of Arizona, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 with a major in journalism and a minor in music.

After graduation, Mr. Kamin spent the next five years as an award-winning journalist at a handful of Arizona newspapers, including the Eastern Arizona Courier and the Prescott Daily Courier. During this time, Mr. Kamin covered politics, criminal proceedings, and real estate litigation. Mr. Kamin subsequently returned to California in 2007 to report on the latest developments in workers’ compensation law at WorkCompCentral, a national workers’ compensation news publication.

While covering the latest appellate decisions in workers’ compensation law, Mr. Kamin quickly realized that he enjoyed the complexities of workers’ compensation law and earned his juris doctorate at the Ventura College of Law. Mr. Kamin interned for John A. Futoran Sr., where he gained valuable insight into governmental workers’ employment law disputes at the Merit Systems Protection Board. Later, Mr. Kamin interned at Creative Dispute Resolution, where he assisted a court-appointed discovery master and gained critical insight into abuses of the civil discovery system.

After being admitted to practice law in the State of California in 2013, Mr. Kamin quickly signed on with the firm of Bradford & Barthel because of its sterling reputation as a leader in California workers’ compensation law. Since joining Bradford & Barthel, Mr. Kamin has written and edited numerous blog articles over the years and given a plethora of webinars, all with the goal of educating people across the workers’ compensation system. He is now an equity partner at the firm’s Woodland Hills office, and was promoted to being director of the firm’s Editorial Board.

In his spare time, Mr. Kamin enjoys spending time with his wife and children. He is also an avid sports fan who enjoys rooting for his Arizona Wildcats, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Los Angeles Lakers. Mr. Kamin also enjoys golfing and fishing.

Judge of the Year: Honorable Paul Maynard DeWeese

Bio info coming soon

Lifetime Achievement Award: Honorable Adoralida “Dora” Padilla

Judge Padilla is a Workers’ Compensation Judge at the San Jose Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. She was appointed in September 2001. Prior to being appointed she was the managing partner at The Padilla Law Firm where she was an Applicant’s Attorney, and also handled matters in Family Court, Juvenile Dependency and Criminal Court. She acted as a Judge Pro Tem for the San Jose WCAB District Office for a number of years before taking the Bench. 

The Judge earned a degree in Political Science from Santa Clara University in 1986 and her J.D. from Lincoln Law School of San Jose in 1994. Judge Padilla has been on the faculty of Lincoln Law School since 2002, teaching a comprehensive course in workers’ compensation. 

The Judge is a past officer, member and advisor of the former Executive Committee of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the State Bar of California (now California Lawyers Association) and for many years the Chair of the Awards Sub-Committee. She served as President of the Conference of California Workers’ Compensation Judges for two years and was a Board member of the Conference of Judges from 2003 – 2013. 

Judge Padilla has been a speaker for the State Bar’s Workers’ Compensation Boot Camp courses in preparation for the legal specialization exam and has lectured for the State Bar of California, the California Workers’ Compensation Defense Attorneys Association, the California Applicant’s Attorneys Association, WorkComp Central, the Santa Clara County Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Association, the County Counsel’s office in Santa Clara County, and the City Attorney’s Office in San Jose. The Judge is a frequent career-day speaker at many local high schools and junior high schools in Santa Clara County. She also frequently performs marriage ceremonies and has joined over 40 couples in matrimony, having performed ceremonies all over California and also in Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico and Greece. 

On 09/21/2012 Judge Padilla was honored by the Hispanic Development Corporation as a recipient of their “Portraits of Success” Award, and in November 2013, was inducted to the East Side Union High School District Thomas P. Ryan Hall of Fame which honors outstanding achievements of district graduates. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of Opera San Jose, and also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Clara University Alumni Association. In May, 2025, Judge Padilla was honored as Alumna of the Year by Lincoln Law School of San Jose. 

As a trial judge, Judge Padilla has adjudicated over 1300 trials, with her personal best being in 2004 when she tried 124 matters. She is most proud of her decision in the matter of Diego Alvarez vs. Crefitta Inc. in which she allowed the injured worker to testify from Mexico via Skype. This decision was later cited as authority during the COVID pandemic to allow remote hearings, before Reg 10745 was amended to allow for hearings to be held electronically. 

Judge Padilla is a published author, having contributed a short-story entitled “Guardian Angel” to a collaborative work by Yolanda King (daughter of Martin Luther King Jr) and Elodia Tate titled “Open My Eyes, Open My Soul,” with a forward by Coretta Scott King. The book was published by McGraw-Hill in 2004 and Judge Padilla’s short story accompanies works by Maya Angelou, Mohammed Ali, Stevie Wonder and other notable figures. Judge Padilla has happy memories of being on a book tour with Yolanda King, including a memorable presentation aptly held at San Jose’s Martin Luther King Jr. Library in 2004. 

In the Spring of 2017, Judge Padilla hiked 110km of Spain’s Camino de Santiago pilgrim route to honor her late husband John and she plans on repeating this hike in early September of 2025 with her son Jonathan and her adopted daughter Isabelle. She is a world-traveler, and reports her favorite city as Barcelona, Spain. 

Judge Padilla plans to retire from the Bench in December 2025 after more than 24 years of State service. Her plans for retirement include learning to play golf, continuing with her world travels, and spending time with her four piebald dachshunds: Starbuck, Freya, DamaPreciosa and Loki.