I was humbled last week to share a meal with an amazing
group of people. To a person, the room was filled with names that are
synonymous with Florida workers’ compensation. Certainly, each has faults or
flaws, everybody does. But, these luminaries have had their names on doors in
this state since I can remember, although that is not that long. This was the
Workers’ Compensation Institute Hall of Fame, the second annual induction
dinner. The event was held in Miami this year, with the planning and
organizational efforts of Ray Malca and Steve Rissman.
I heard a great many stories about the way workers’
compensation used to be, and the “good old days.” I do not doubt those stories
for a minute, and I respect the way in which all of the Hall members revere
those who came before, those who have passed, and those who have brought
texture to the fabric of this practice. I have to balance those recollections
against the refrains of today, that “comp is dying,” or ‘it isn’t fair.” Certainly
workers’ compensation is not easy. However, I am reminded of the line from a Billy
Joel song in which he reminds “the good old days weren’t all that good, and
tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”
The role that these Hall members have played in the
development of Florida Workers’ Compensation is dramatic. Around the table at
dinner, I saw those who have represented parties in (now) famous cases, founded
little law firms that became statewide, dedicated careers to developing
successful insurance companies, lobbied for change, served the state, wrote
articles and gave speeches. All important, helpful, and gratefully acknowledged.
Bravo ladies and gentlemen.
Despite these fine accolades and contributions, not their
best work in my opinion. These are what you may know them by. But as I listen
to stories around the table, I was struck by the contributions each has made to
other people. One attorney raised his glass last Friday to another and said
“you made me the lawyer I am.” When it all comes to rest, I suggest, the people
are more important than the accolades and achievements. This is nothing new,
and I realize I am echoing old sentiments about the importance of touching
other people.
Our agency rolled out electronic service last week.
Immediately, I began getting emails from attorneys who could not find the
carrier they needed in the list on our e-JCC platform. We asked in October for
the data to make this list complete. Some carriers provided it, others did not.
Lives are busy, I get it. I started calling carriers. At one, the lady who
answered the phone was an adjuster I worked with years ago. At another, I happened
to reach a claims manager who also had been an adjuster I worked with in the
90s. Days later, yet another representative responded to an email request and turned
out to be yet another. She took the time to reminisce a few minutes with me
about the 90s and our work for an employer in Jacksonville. That employer is
gone, I have lost track of the people, but it was nice to remember.
My point? Each of those people reminded me how I learned to
be the lawyer that I was. Those people changed me, mostly for the better. I
remember writing a magnificent opinion letter, as a young lawyer, describing
the many reasons my client’s employee’s death claim would never prevail at
trial and why it should be denied. Like the narrator describes in “Alice’s
Restaurant,” I had everything I needed to win (my letter took longer to read
than Arlo’s 26 minute rendition). After reading my letter, the client asked me
a question that I recalled many times thereafter as an attorney, “yeah Dave,
but is it right?” My client paid me for my fine letter, and then paid the widow
for the death benefits. It was the right thing to do.
Still don’t get the point? The most compelling stories from
the Hall dinner, to me; the “best work,” to me, of those Hall members sitting
around the table? That most of these workers’ compensation icons was a mentor,
and many still are. Their “best work,” in my opinion, is the extent to which
each has obviously and repeatedly touched the lives of other attorneys,
adjusters, and paraprofessionals, struggling to balance the challenges and
obligations of this fine profession.
When you help someone, there is a direct and practical value
transferred. More important, you set an example which should motivate that
person to, in turn, help someone else. Thus each of these Hall icons, with each
person mentored, has mentored so many more. I consider this their “best work”
because, as I said, workers’ compensation is not easy, nor is life. It can be
easier, though, if you have a few good mentors or role models. We certainly
have much to thank the Hall members for, over the course of (collectively)
hundreds of years of service. However, what I want to specifically thank them
each for is the contributions they have made mentoring.
Too few attorneys seek a place in workers’ compensation. Too
many are leaving the practice. The reasons are varied. Past is the day when I
met many fresh faces at the WCI conference each August. Despite this, there are
young people around us, some in comp and others in our community. If we are to
be measured a success, I would suggest that the best benchmark may be how much
you do to assist and advise these young people, such that they may grow and
become tomorrow’s icons. Have you
mentored someone today?
