By Timothy Conner

Judge, Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Commission

Knoxville, TN

 

The NAWCJ’s annual Judicial College will convene August 17-20 at the beautiful World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida.  The Judicial College occurs in conjunction with WCI’s Annual Conference, which attracts approximately 5,000 workers’ compensation professionals from across the country.  This year, the NAWCJ’s Curriculum Committee is excited to announce its lineup of educational presentations geared toward workers’ compensation adjudicators.

Monday morning will begin with a discussion of security issues judges must consider in both their professional and personal lives.  We will then have panel discussions on evidence, judicial independence, and ex parte communications.  Our lunchtime presentation will offer a comparative analysis of how various jurisdictions address important workers’ compensation topics.  Monday afternoon sessions will focus on transitioning from advocate to adjudicator and how to make “game time” decisions during hearings.

Tuesday morning, you will have an opportunity to view a live surgery as part of the WCI conference.  The adjudicators will then reconvene to discuss how to become better legal writers and how to deal with the coming reality of artificial intelligence in the legal profession.  After lunch, we will hear the always-entertaining presentation of interesting and unique workers’ compensation cases that have been decided in the past year, followed by in-depth discussions of medical issues and impairment ratings.

Wednesday morning, we will offer a lively and fast-paced presentation called “60 Tips in 60 Minutes,” during which long-winded judges will try to keep their discussion of each issue to under a minute, or else suffer the good-natured rebuke of the moderator.  We will then discuss how generational differences can impact adjudicators.  Finally, our conference will end by focusing on how adjudicators can maintain good mental health and mindfulness.

All in all, the Curriculum Committee has put together a program of what promises to be excellent presentations on wide-ranging issues that affect the day-to-day work of workers’ compensation adjudicators.  We hope you will consider joining us in Orlando August 17-20.