Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Free Seminar February 2013 in Tallahassee

The fourth annual Tallahassee workers’ compensation seminar will be February 8, 2013 in the general purpose room of the First District Court at 2000 Drayton Drive. Tallahassee, Florida.

This program would not be possible without the support of the Workers' Compensation Institute. Our thanks to James McConnaughhay, David Parrish, Steve Rissman, Gerald Rosenthal and all the Institute leadership and staff that makes this even possible.
   
The agenda is packed with workers’ compensation information critical to the adjuster, risk manager or attorney. There will be a judicial panel addressing ethical issues confronting workers’ compensation. Moderator Christopher Smith (Tampa) will guide judges Beck (Sarasota), Lazzara (Tallahassee) and Lewis (Ft. Lauderdale) through a variety of ethical concerns. This panel will be recorded, and rebroadcast throughout the state at noon on February 8, via the OJCC videoteleconference system. Program rebroadcast locations include Miami, Ft. Myers, Port St. Lucie, Orlando and Tampa.

The program includes a segment presented by Randall Porche, and the workers’ compensation unit, focused on the art of writing a persuasive appellate brief. Attorneys and parties will gain a better understanding of the effort and organization that go into preparing a brief that says enough, does not say too much, and is organized so that it is comprehensive, informative, and persuasive.
   
A mediation panel including Susan Bisbee (Tallahassee), Alan Gordon (Jacksonville), and Jake Schickel (Jacksonville) will address issues confronting the mediation process. They will explore the conflicts between early defense expenditures that may decrease the funds available for settlement versus the difficulty of negotiating a settlement on incomplete and imperfect information. The necessity and reality of a complete settlement agreement, and the downside risk of that motion to compel settlement that results from poor draftsmanship will also be explored.

The afternoon portion of the program will begin with another judicial panel moderated by Steve Coonrod (Tallahassee). He will navigate Judges Condry (Orlando), Medina-Shore (Miami) and Sojourner (Lakeland) through a variety of issues including the new procedural rules, effective drafting and pleading, and tips and tricks or effective advocacy generally.
   
An attorney panel will follow, moderated by Jake Schickel (Jacksonville). He will be joined by panelists Christopher Smith (Tampa), Kimberly Syfrett (Panama City), Steve Coonrod (Talahassee) and Amy Warpinski (Jacksonville). This geographically diverse panel of exceptionally expereicned attorneys brings perspectives from the injured worker, the employer/carrier, and the in-house counsel for the defense. Their focus will share a wide array of challenges faced by the litigators in the system. Reference will be made to various recent court decisions and the new procedural rules.
   
The program will conclude with an all-star panel on appellate law and its interaction with the trial bench. Judges Lazzara (Tallahassee), Ervin (Tallahassee, First District Court of Appeal, retired) and Wetherell (Tallahassee, First District Court of Appeal) will provide an overview of the interaction between trial and appellate bench. They will address issues including the preparation and filing of the appellate record, the process for dealing with appellate exhibits that cannot be e-filed, the issuance of appellate decisions and how the trial judge and parties should proceed following an order from the court or issuance of a mandate.
            
The agenda is full, and the program participants will enjoy the wit and wisdom of some of the most knowledgeable workers’ compensation system participants from around the state. This program brings an exceptional level of geographic diversity to Tallahassee for an unparalleled program.

The registration form is on page 24 of the December WCI360 newsletter (www.wci360.com). Register early, space is limited!