Email:  Saul@saulallweiss.com

Licensing:  Admitted to California Bar; June 1994

Mr. Allweiss’ initial employment in Workers’ Compensation was with Fremont Indemnity between 1976 and 1982.  During that time he worked as a subrogation specialist, a claims unit supervisor and as a supervisor of a unit dedicated to only handling C/T claims.

Mr. Allweiss’ next position was with the City of Long Beach where he held the position of Claims Officer from 1982 to 1985.  He was responsible for the technical supervision of the City’s self-administered, self-insured program. 

After a year of self-employment, Mr. Allweiss commenced his career at Republic Indemnity Company of America.  From 1986 to 1994, he served as a Hearing Representative, making more than 500 appearances per year which included trials, conferences and depositions.  Upon admission to the California Bar in 1994, Mr. Allweiss was moved into Republic’s Home Office where he was eventually promoted to the level of Assistant Vice President of Home Office Claims.

Mr. Allweiss’ last seven years at Republic had him attending to a myriad of tasks.  He was claims counsel to all of Republic’s branch offices providing guidance on difficult and high profile cases.  He was responsible for setting policy and coordinating the activities of the claims department with other departments of the company as well as with Republic’s parent, American Financial Group.  Mr. Allweiss worked with brokers and insured’s on disputes involving claims handling and the affects of reserving on unit statistical reporting and dividend calculations.  He also conducted training statewide for OBAE compliance and was Republic’s liaison with OBAE during audits. 

Mr. Allweiss has served on the California Workers’ Compensation Institute’s (CWCI) standing Legal and Claims Committees and remains an ad hoc member of the Legal Committee.  He has been a lecturer for CWCI for the last seventeen years at their annual case law seminar and has been an invited speaker at other CWCI training seminars including seminars in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007 on new legislation. Mr. Allweiss has been an invited speaker at the annual meeting of the California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery, California Orthopedics Association, California State Bar, California Manufacturers’ Association, California Workers’ Compensation Defense Attorney Association, the General Counsel Seminar of the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) and, on eight occasions, before the California Applicant’s Attorneys’ Association. 

Mr. Allweiss has been retained as a consultant on behalf of employers and insurers, serving on numerous ad hoc committees created by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, that were involved in the drafting of regulations and policy and procedure.  Mr. Allweiss was recently retained as Legislative Consultant for a number of employers and insurers in regard to the 2012 and 2004 Workers’ Compensation Reform Acts, and remains as a consultant in regard to the drafting of regulations needed to enact the provisions of this legislation.

The Workers’ Compensation Section of the California State Bar has named Mr. Allweiss as its “Defense Attorney of the Year” for 2006.

In July 2014 The California Coalition on Workers Compensation conferred the Tim East Award to Mr Allweiss as the Workers Compensation Professional of the year.

Mr. Allweiss entered private practice in the year 2001 and in October 2002 opened his own firm, The Law Offices of Allweiss and McMurtry.  The practice focuses on the basic defense of workers’ compensation disputes.  In particular, Mr. Allweiss has developed a unique expertise in the settlement of permanent and total losses that involve Medicare.  He is available as a trainer for claims and legal personnel.  He serves as a consultant for Legislative and Regulatory matters.     

He has been retained as an expert in first-party bad faith litigation.  In one recent matter (2010) Mr. Allweiss’ expert testimony at trial was adopted by the panel resulting in a judgment in favor of the party retaining his services.

Mr. Allweiss has served as an Umpire in a contract arbitration that resulted in a final judgment issuing after four days of testimony with the parties reaching a settlement shortly after the judgment issued.

Mr. Allweiss has been retained as mediator on numerous matter within an Alternate Dispute Resolution Program and on individual high exposure claims.

Email:  Rachel@saulallweiss.com

Licensing:  Admitted to California Bar; May 2004

Rachel commenced her employment with Saul as a paralegal/intern in her second year of law school.  Rachel was mentored by Saul in this role until she was admitted to the California Bar in May 2004.  Since becoming an attorney, Rachel has become a seasoned workers’ compensation defense attorney in all aspects of the practice.  Specifically, Rachel has gained incredible expertise in deposing doctors.  This task is, by far, the most difficult challenge that a workers’ compensation attorney has to perform.  By far, Rachel’s strongest suit is her ability to settle cases.  Rachel possesses a dogged determination in her efforts to settle a case, never taking “no” for an answer.

In January 2013, Saul made Rachel his first partner in the practice.

Email:  Ralph@saulallweiss.com

Licensing:  Admitted to California Bar; June 1, 2012

Ralph commenced with the firm in February 2006, and soon thereafter obtained his IEA WCCP designation. His initial tasks primarily involved the handling of liens.  Once Ralph started law school in 2007, he was mentored personally by Saul in regard to the handling of all aspects of workers’ compensation while continuing in his gaining his vast expertise in handling liens.  Before graduating Magna Cum Laude in 2011, Ralph made countless appearances at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board as a hearing representative. This experience that Ralph gained, prior to his admission to the Bar, has proven to be invaluable in allowing him to mature very quickly into becoming a seasoned workers’ compensation defense attorney.

Email:  Marla@saulallweiss.com

Licensing:      

Admitted to California Bar; 1982

Central District Court; 1982

United States Court of Appeals; 1982

Supreme Court of California; 1982

Supreme Court of the United States; 1986

Ms. Kelly began worker in the field of workers’ compensation with Fremont Indemnity in Los Angeles where she was a claims examiner from 1980 to 1983.  During that time, she helped organize the subrogation claims unit and handled cumulative trauma claims, as well as regular workers’ compensation claims.

In early 1983, she became an associated with the firm of Ibold and Anderson, where she appeared at conferences, trials, and depositions defending workers’ compensation claims.

Ms. Kelly became an equity partner in 1987 and supervised and mentored new associates.

In 1998, she took early retirement to enjoy family and travel.

In 2003, Ms. Kelly left retirement when the opportunity arose to join the Law Offices of Allweiss & McMurtry where she is currently an associate directing her energies to trials and depositions.  She has represented defendants in hundreds of appearances and depositions in the workers’ compensation forum.

Email:  Cristina@saulallweiss.com

Licensing:  

Cristina took her undergraduate studies at San Diego State University, graduating in 2010 as a political science major. Her initial tasks primarily involved the handling of liens.  She graduated from Loyola Law School in May 2013 and was admitted to the California Bar Association that same year. Cristina started as a law clerk at the firm while in law school, and she was mentored personally by Saul and Ralph during law school in regard to the handling of all aspects of workers’ compensation and she has made countless appearances at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board during law school as a hearing representative. This experience that Cristina gained through the years at our firm has proven to be invaluable in allowing her to mature into a seasoned workers’ compensation defense attorney. The firm looks forward to her upcoming role as Partner.