NAWCJ

Judicial Outreach in Florida: Efforts to Retain (and Sustain) Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Their Practices


By Jonathan Walker

Judge

Florida Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims

Pensacola, FL

 

The genesis of this article began with my reading of another article entitled “Bar’s 75th Anniversary Spurs Career Sustainability Initiative” in the May 21, 2025, edition of the Florida Bar News. The writer discusses efforts by Florida Bar President Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes to stem the outflow of attorneys from their practice areas throughout the state. To this end, President Baker-Barnes empaneled a special committee to address the issue of sustainability for attorneys in their practices. Various studies spurred her decision. According to Co-Chair G.C. Murray II, Esquire, the 2024 Membership Survey showed that 80% of Florida lawyers under 35 believed the legal profession was “becoming less desirable.” Co-Chair Murray referenced a 2021 Thomson Reuters report that showed a 16% attrition rate at the 100 largest U.S. law firms. Using this figure, the report “calculated that for every 20 lawyers hired, 15 would leave within six years.”

In light of the article, we reviewed the practices of the Florida Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims. This review revealed that our agency has already embarked on numerous programs to encourage both attorneys and their staffers to continue practicing workers’ compensation throughout their careers. Of course, as in other practice areas, workers’ compensation firms in Florida face retention challenges, as highlighted in the insightful article. But with the advent of these programs, our office—in partnership with other stakeholders—works very hard to stem the tide of early departures.

We agree with the article’s premise that busy practices often inhibit the ability of an attorney to slow down and see the 10,000-foot view of what they are doing every day. Without an opportunity to sometimes see a broader picture, the tendency is to become mired in the trees and not see the entire forest. Through program offerings throughout the state, the OJCC and our partners strive to provide opportunities for workers’ compensation lawyers and staff to come together and hear from diverse speakers. Our recent panelists have included appellate judges, compensation claims judges, administrative law judges, experienced lawyers, and industry executives—all of whom brought their unique perspectives on what it is to work in workers’ compensation.

 

Some of the CLE- or CE- approved courses that we have developed include:

 

  • Ø OJCC Certified Scholars Program. Begun last year, this intensive, nine-month program gives attorneys and industry professionals a deeper dive into workers’ compensation. Geared toward those in the seven-year to ten-year experience range, participants are nominated by regional JCC panels. A selection committee reviews the nominees and selects 10-12 individuals who have shown exceptional qualities thus far in their careers.

 

  • Ø OJCC Academy. In this interactive program, newer lawyers with less than seven years’ experience learn how to try a workers’ compensation case before a JCC. Classes are taught by OJCC judges and experienced trial attorneys in small groups of fewer than ten attorneys.

 

  • Ø Workers’ Compensation Winter Seminar. Sponsored by the OJCC and the Workers’ Compensation Institute, this annual, free, day-long program (held at the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee) brings together attorneys, adjusters, and employers to learn about changes in workers’ compensation in the past year. A panel of First District Court of Appeal judges also gives their particular insights into workers’ compensation based on their exclusive appellate jurisdiction over our practice area.

 

  • Ø Paralegal Masterclass. JCCs and experienced attorneys bring their particular skills to a curriculum designed for the workers’ compensation paralegal. The program emphasizes the Florida Rules of Workers’ Compensation Procedure and the effect of the rules on every aspect of an active law practice. The instructors also discuss ethics, professionalism, and the unlicensed practice of law with the attendees.

Our judges and mediators also have leadership positions in five dedicated workers’ compensation Inns of Court located in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Port St. Lucie. While such formats are uncommon, we find that dedicated Inns provide another conduit for workers’ compensation attorneys in these locales to meet one another and learn from the various teams about issues affecting our particular practice. These meetings promote in-person engagement.

We are not alone in our efforts. The Workers’ Compensation Section of the Florida Bar coordinates a multi-day, instructional Forum in Orlando annually, which brings together many members of our community to learn about their chosen profession. The Section convenes Zoom sessions with the JCCs that enable lawyers to tune in to learn about recent developments in the law. The Section also coordinates a successful trial advocacy program that provides instruction to attorneys as taught by experienced lawyers.

Of course, the Workers’ Compensation Institute (WCI) assembles the largest conference of its kind in the country every August in Orlando that is unparalleled in its scope and reach. WCI has also established a Workers’ Compensation Hall of Fame recognizing community leaders, historical perspectives, and this practice.

Together with our partners, the OJCC continues to work on sustaining our workers’ compensation attorneys in our special area of Florida law. But we know that there is more work to be done. For this reason, our judges are continuing to explore new opportunities for the bench and bar to come together as a community to learn from one another. Through this shared learning, our attorneys will begin to see the bigger picture of what it is they do every day. In this way, we hope that an awareness of the greater workers’ compensation industry—and the part they play in it—will encourage our lawyers in their daily work and future careers.

As your states explore career sustainability, we hope that our efforts may inform you on ways for programs to build community and increase the likelihood that an attorney will remain in a chosen practice area.

If you would like to learn more about the OJCC’s sustainability programs for your area, please reach out to us. We would be happy to provide program materials that we use here.