The approach that our firm uses in regard to standard workers’ compensation defense is that of a team approach. Rachel and I are the only individuals that are responsible for opening a file and preparing the initial plan of action. We also maintain an open diary on all files in the office to be sure that the plan of action is continuously updated and modified as needed. We review all mail that comes into the office and all correspondence that goes out of the office. We give direction to the associates on exactly how we want them to handle various issues. The same approach applies to appearances. While it would be impossible for Rachel or me to make all appearances ourselves, this team approach allows us to delegate assignments to the associates giving them specific instruction as to the expectations for the appearance and guidance in how they can meet those expectations. You will note from my profile page that a lot of my activity on a daily basis involves work as a consultant on both a legislative and regulatory basis. This will take me out of the office to meetings in Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco quite often. This type of work allows us to give our clients very detailed and unique insight in regard to legislation and regulation as well as the development of case law. But, we always remain fully engaged in all of the activities in the office. We have intentionally kept the size of our practice extremely small to allow for this team approach to continue. This approach has been quite successful with all of our clients. Of course, when dealing with a high profile issue, whatever additional personal time is required by Rachel or I will always be made available.
Venues:
Our practice focuses on the following Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board District Offices:
- San Luis Obispo (SLO)
- Santa Barbara (SBA)
- Oxnard (OXN)
- Van Nuys (VNO)
- Marina del Rey (MDR)
- Los Angeles (LAO)
As a general rule, we do not accept assignments outside of the venues listed above. While we are always willing to make exceptions on a particular case, we believe that we can be most effective to the needs of all of our clients by not spreading ourselves too thin and going to distant venues.