Congratulations to the Distinguished

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 | 0

By Julius Young

The Workers' Compensation Section of the California State Bar honored four distinguished workers compensation veterans in ceremonies in Monterey on Friday.

The award for distinguished lifetime achievement was given to Dennis Hannigan, deputy commissioner of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Hannigan has served for many years in a staff post with the WCAB, often writing decisions and sometimes serving on WCAB decision panels in his deputy commissioner role. Known for his integrity and encyclopedic knowledge of California workers' comp, Hannigan has truly served the people of California with excellence as a public servant.

Judge of the Year award went to Joel Harter of Sacramento. Harter has been the presiding judge in Sacramento and, with Court administrator Kevin Star on military furlough, is currently assigned to the EAMS project, a big undertaking at the moment. EAMS is either off to a good or a rocky start depending on whom you talk to.

Named defense attorney of the year was Jim Libien of the Laughin, Falbo Levy and Moresi office in Oakland. Libien has been a leader in the San Francisco Bay area workers' comp community for years. A straight-shooting, "old-school" kind of guy, Libien has eschewed the sort of scorched-earth litigation style that has made its way into some California workers' comp firms. Libien has always been able to see the need for dignity in the comp litigation process, has promoted collegiality among members of the bar, and has been able to recognize that workers' comp is a benefit-delivery system, not a civil-litigation system.

The applicant attorney of the year award went to Linda Atcherley of San Diego. Atcherley has worker her heart out over the last few years on behalf of disabled workers. In 2007 she served as President of the California Applicants Attorneys Association. In 2008 she has served as legislative committee chairperson for CAAA. Atcherley gave both posts her all, spending untold hours in Sacramento hearings and other comp-related meetings up and down the state.

I found myself standing at the awards event, looking out the windows at fog rolling off Monterey Bay, listening to their acceptance speeches as a who's who of movers and shakers in the California "comp community" watched and applauded. The common theme was apparent: all four of these individuals had a commitment to the integrity of the law and the comp judicial process.

The "comp community" should be proud.

A sad note: attorney Steve Jiminez of Oakland suddenly passed away this year. A stalwart member of the Workers' Comp Executive Committee of the California Bar, Jimenez was destined for greater things before his passing. The California bar awards are now known as the Steve Jimenez Memorial Special recognition awards.

<i>Julius Young is an applicants' attorney with Boxer Young in Oakland. This column was reprinted with his permission from his blog, http://www.workerscompzone.com</i>