Voice from the Chair

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

Welcome to this edition of the Enews.  It is one of the great honors of my career to have been elected by my colleagues as the new Chair of The California Lawyers Association Workers’ Compensation Section Executive Committee.  I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to lead this esteemed group of jurists and practitioners that represent a broad cross-section of our community statewide.  My vision for the upcoming year is for our Executive Committee to develop and implement innovative programs of interest for all segments of California’s workers’ compensation community.   I am proud to say that the Workers’ Compensation Section has led the charge in many important endeavors for our profession, which are highlighted in this issue of the Enews!  I hope you will join us as a member and become a part of this dynamic organization. 

I would also like to take this opportunity to give special thanks to our immediate past Chair, the Honorable Presiding Judge Sharon Velzy of the Van Nuys District Office of the WCAB.   One of the highlights of Presiding Judge Velzy’s term was our first stand-alone Annual Awards and Dinner Celebration which was held on the historic Queen Mary in Long Beach, California on September 28, 2024.  Additionally, I would like to congratulate and thank the Awards and Recognition sub-committee that worked hard on this event. The evening was a huge success and was sold out in advance of the event.  In this issue, you will find photographs covering this magnificent event.   Presiding Judge Velzy also continued to lead our Education subcommittee which brings live and virtual CLE seminars on a regular basis enhancing our professional development.  Once again, I wish to thank Presiding Judge Velzy on a job well done as the Chair of our committee for 2023-2024. 

Listening to the calls from our members and practitioners throughout the state, our Legislation subcommittee, together with the California Lawyers Association Governmental Affairs office, authored legislation to amend the California Labor Code to allow electronic signatures throughout all proceedings of the WCAB.   The legislation passed both houses of our State Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law.  Details about this highly welcomed bill is provided in this issue of the Enews. 

Ever since the pandemic, we have learned from our members from across the state that they miss the camaraderie and networking opportunities that they enjoyed when appearing regularly, in person, at the Board.   Our Education sub-committee members heard you loud and clear and came up with an outstanding idea:  Why not combine hard-to-get CLE credits with a networking event at a great location?  This year, our section did just that by hosting two highly successful live CLE programs and networking events in Oakland and Sacramento.  The Oakland event took place at the mouthwatering Everett & Jones BBQ, while the Sacramento event took place at the popular Crawdads by the River.  Both events featured great food and an outstanding CLE presentation.  We are planning more pop-up events, so look out for details. In addition to the live events, we have held CLE webinars on topics such as “Do We Really Need Another QME?” and “Don’t Risk Suspension!  How to Properly Fill Out Settlement Documents” and “Case Law Update.” You can download and listen to these and other webinars online.

And speaking of continuing legal education, if you thought it was just for lawyers, think again!  In this issue, Judge Mykil Bachoian of the Van Nuys District Office is interviewed by Judge Therese DaSilva of the Oakland District Office and offers some unique perspectives as a first-time participant in the annual judges’ training conference that was recently held in Los Angeles. 

Earlier this year, our Community Outreach Subcommittee participated at Southwestern Law School’s Annual Diversity in the Law event, where law students were introduced to the practice of workers’ compensation law and the California Workers’ Compensation judicial system.  This was a great experience for the students and our members.

I recently presented an introduction to Workers Compensation to the UCSF Legal Aid at Work Clinic. It was another great experience of speaking with law students about our area of law.   

Finally, we have some great articles on important current workers’ compensation issues by noted authors Randy Pollak discussing the potential ramifications of the landmark California Supreme Court decision in Castellanos concerning the constitutionality of Proposition 22, the Gig Worker Initiative, as well as John Kamin analyzing PQME procedure when a PQME moves. 

Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy reading this new edition of the Enews.