At the Workers' Compensation Forum in Orlando this week, there is perhaps a tinge of change in the air. This is a growing event sponsored by The Florida Bar Workers' Compensation Section and the Workers' Compensation Claims Professionals (WCCP). It had roots that included the Board Certification Review Course, but has grown into more. This year over 550 attendees filled the halls for a variety of lectures.
At their Thursday luncheon, honors were presented to various attorneys. See Congratulations Ray Malca (April 2025). While Auspicious, that was only one of three. There was also presentation of the Annual Frierson Colling Professionalism Award. See Awards and Memories (January 2024). The Section presented this to Rosemary Eure of Sarasota.
It is a little challenging to balance the celebration of the winner with some recognition of the namesakes. A future post will address who Frierson and Colling were. Suffice it here to say that the Bar began in 2008 presenting this award in honor of the ideals of professionalism, and this year recognized Ms. Eure.
Professionalism is an odd term. Some feel it is too readily bandied about and too little discussed in earnest. There are those who struggle to define it, and others for whom it is a simple way of life. In a program at the Forum, attorney Glen Weiland addressed this spontaneously and effectively. I cannot quote exactly, but the spirit he conveyed is "ethics means following rules." Professionalism means "doing the right thing above and beyond the rules."
Thus, the Section recognizes that spirit of above and beyond. Ms. Eure has practiced in Florida workers' compensation for over 35 years. She has served on, and led, the Workers’ Compensation section of the Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Florida Workers’ Advocates (FWA). She has been a member of the Section Executive Council for almost a decade, and is an inductee into the Florida Workers’ Compensation Hall of Fame and the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. Congratulations Ms. Eure!
But wait, there's more.
In 2024, a group of lawyers began discussing their perceptions of the workers' compensation practice. This included airing some grievances and expressing some challenges. They met with Judge Hedler (WPB) and began to form a response. I have been an advocate of this community, and this response bears mention and appreciation (not yet triumph - more on that below). See Potential Energy (March 2024).
The end result is the Women in Workers' Compensation committee of The Florida Bar Workers' Compensation Section. That group has had a busy year building membership, momentum, and perspective. Today, it will present a panel discussion about issues women face in this practice. There are a number of women who practice workers' compensation law, and while I lack statistics it is my perception that the number has grown significantly over the last several decades.
This historical evolution is supported by the perspectives of Karen Gilmartin, who was recently interviewed for the Florida Hall of Fame historical project. She began practicing a few years before Ms. Eure and recalls being one of just a few women in the practice. She recounts a practice dominated by men, and challenges associated with it. She recounts what women faced in this community, and some significant improvement over the years. In numbers, there has also been significant progress.
Another award presented was also inaugural. That brings me to Francis Perkins (not a Floridian), who was the first woman to serve as a Presidential Cabinet member. More on here is available in Safety is Important, what is Effective (April 2016). I also mention her in Women's History Month (March 2023). Many see Secretary Perkins through that lens of a ceiling breaker and Cabinet member.
I would suggest that she was no less a ceiling breaker when she had earlier become a lobbyist in the New York Legislature. She was involved with unions that represented primarily women, notable including the garment industry, and intertwined with the Triangle Shirt Waist Fire and all it meant. As a result, she was engaged professionally in near exclusively male profession. Neither eclipses the other, but I think many are too quick to forget her efforts in that earlier lobbyist role, and the advent of workers' compensation.
The Workers' Compensation Section Women in Workers' Compensation presented its first Francis Perkins Award to Mary Ann Stiles at the 2025 Forum. Ms. Stiles has been a part of Florida workers' compensation since 1972, before attending law school and beginning practice in 1978. She was featured in a sponsored article in The National Digest.
Unless my eyes deceived me, Mary Ann was a little overwhelmed by the attention at this award presentation. I have known Mary Ann for many years, and believe that she was more appreciative and honored by this award than she could convey. The fact is that she has broken some barriers. She was one of the first women to lobby in Florida, among the first to own and run a law firm, and the list goes on.
The The National Digest piece concludes with a Mary Ann quote (if you don't know Mary Ann, know this: she can at times be brutally honest):
"women have come a long way, but not far enough. There is more work to do!”
That is a statement of fact, and it leads me to some important points. In 2025, why is there a focus on women in workers' compensation? The fact is that there are more women practicing here today than ever. Many are markedly successful, firm-owning, partnership-leading, association-leading, dynamic, prominent, and the list of adjectives goes on.
It is notable that the current Chair of the Workers' Compensation Section is an accomplished and dynamic leader - Ms. Cullen. The leader of the WCCP is the equally accomplished and exceptional Stacy Hosman. The Perkins Award was presented by Dawn Traverso, a former Chair of the Section, and every bit as outstanding and accomplished. There is no shortage of outstanding examples in the workers' compensation community. (One attendee referred to this group as the Mount Rushmore of women in Florida workers' compensation).
And yet, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." (Marcellus, Hamlet, Billy Shakespeare, 1601). Ah, Marcellus explains
"That one may smile and smile and be a villain. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our philosophy."
There is deceit and disregard. I have once too often heard the story of a lawyer or judge walking into a proceeding and having a male attorney assume she is "the court reporter" or "the interpreter." Yes, I am assured that is still happening in 2025.
I have heard once too often about provincial comments demeaning or diminishing female attorneys, from the ridiculous "little lady" to the more aggressive suggestions of needing "a new career."
I continue to hear issues of pay equity, career opportunity, and various other impacts of predisposition and bias.
The stories of lawyers disregarding or discounting the legal opinions of female attorneys, particularly the younger ones, are persistent and demoralizing.
There have been advances - undoubtedly. There have been successes - indubitably. And many of those are evident in various statistics, such as those published by Practus (August 2024).
Nonetheless, we are working in a profession that is largely female. I have witnessed a variety of exceptional attorneys in my career, a great many of which are women. Their aplomb, skill, and intellect are undeniable. Some of the very best I have witnessed.
All attorneys are faced with challenges. There are difficult clients, unhelpful facts, and unsupportive law. The practice is demanding on time, intellect, and emotion. There are deadlines, conflicts, and demands. Regardless of it all, there remains community.
Unfortunately, there still walk among us some bullies, miscreants, and Neanderthals. And that presents challenges to the entire community. Somehow, as the foregoing has found its way into this post, the recurring them I cannot shake is Mr. Weiland's: "Professionalism means doing the right thing."
I am energized to see the topic receiving more attention, and I endorse Ms. Stiles "There is more work to do!” I am hopeful that raising awareness is of some help. The time is well past for clownish, cretin, bullies . And, more importantly perhaps, the time is now for us all to examine our assumptions and consider predispositions.
As noted, there is both deceit and disregard. Neither is worse or better, but one is easier to fix.
It is possible that the "are you the court reporter" and similar is not intended to demean. Nonetheless, we must accept that it is demeaning in fact. The listener is troubled by the statement, and regardless of intent (or lack), all speakers must take note. There is no advantage in degradation, dismissal, or minimization.
In this, the "disregard" that is a unknowing, unthinking, or inconsiderate should be easily addressed. Through consciousness raising and simple consideration, the disregard and disconnect should be illuminated, alleviated, and eliminated. If you are making innocent and yet distasteful comments, heed the lyrics of somegirlnamedanna:
"Dude
I can't believe I have to say this
But seriously, just, just stop"
The "deceit" and other intentional nonsense will require more time, thought, and effort. That said, bullies are neither novel nor surprising. They exist and persist in every culture, conglomeration, and community. They cannot generally stand the disinfectant of sunshine. There needs to be more discussion of the bullying ways and more attention paid to it.
As with much else, events like the Forum are positive opportunities for these discussions. The vast majority of this community will rally to the "right thing" once they know it. The spotlight on what is troublesome and an airing of issues will benefit all. I look forward to this discussion, and welcome your thoughts: david.langham@doah.state.fl.us.
