Off-site Archive

  March 16, 2018 WHY IS IT SO HARD TO BE A LAWYER? By Judge David Langham Trial is a stressful event. The whole practice of law is stressful. No attorney ever knows for sure what evidence may be adduced by the opponent(s). Worse, there is never absolute certainty that your own client will not surprise you a few times, usually at the worst possible time. Attorneys strive for preparedness, rack their brains regarding potentialities and possibilities, and they stress. It is hard on the mind, the body, and the people around them.   There is seemingly endless advice heaped on lawyers: “be brief,” “be thorough,” “never ask a question you don’t know the answer to,” “be prepared,” “know thy enemy,” “know the law, know the facts, but most important know the judge,” “start strong, finish stronger,” “follow your gut,” “watch for opportunities,” “never let the jury see you sweat,” “never, never give up,” and the list goes on and on. If only memorizing and employing these tips was a path t...

 F ebruary 16, 2018 GROUNDHOG DAY By Judge David Langham Last week it was Groundhog Day. I was amused to see a story of  one network playing  the movie  Groundhog Day  all day on a loop to celebrate the occasion. The movie is a funny message of maturity, learning from mistakes, and perhaps questioning how we use our limited time on this planet. In it, Phil Conners (Bill Murray) laments that he must play by other’s rules, saying: It's the same thing your whole life: "Clean up your room. Stand up straight. Pick up your feet. Take it like a man. Be nice to your sister. Don't mix beer and wine, ever." Oh yeah: "Don't drive on the railroad track.” And, we all identify with Phil, at least a little bit. We all resist convention and rules to some extent. By the denouement of the movie, Phil has grasped the error of his thoughtless and selfish ways, has gained focus, and wins the love of a special person, Rita (Andie MacDowell). Like Phil, I think we are all afforded ...

  January 26, 2018 REAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WORKER'S COMPENSATION - FLORIDA STYLE By Judge David Langham I participated this week in Real Conversations about Worker's Compensation (RCWC), part of a two-day seminar produced by WorkCompCentral (WCC) in Saint Pete Beach. It was the first WCC program in Florida, and is noteworthy for that reason alone. However, the program was itself noteworthy.  The RCWC format is scripted around hypothetical scenarios, primarily arising from situations in California. They are exaggerated for discussion’s sake. The discussion uses their foundational facts to highlight broad and interesting issues by a very large panel of ten subject-matter experts. And, within this construct, there is discussion of ethical and professional issues.  We discussed compensability of closed-head trauma symptomatology. This is a California hot-topic. With a newly diagnosed but long retired claimant there are issues. There was discussion of whether a Florida petiti...

  January 12, 2018 WHAT IS THE POINT? By Judge David Langham What is the point? What is the purpose of workers’ compensation? I was confounded by that question recently in an exchange of emails with a judge from another jurisdiction. The foundation arises from this judge’s perceptions of employer-selected medical care; there is some apparent tendency to find that concept difficult to comprehend. In Florida, for the most part, medical care providers in workers’ compensation are selected by the employer (or carrier).  The judge with whom I was corresponding works in a state in which the insurance companies each have a “medical provider network” or “MPN.” In this manner, the carrier controls the population of “available” physicians, but the injured worker may choose from among those in the MPN (Florida unsuccessfully tried something similar called “managed care” in the 1990s). A third alternative also exists in some jurisdictions where the injured worker has virtually unfettere...

  November 06, 2017 WHAT A WEEK IT WAS? By David Langham There are a great many topics that are worthy of attention and discussion. I rarely struggle to blog, because the topics are everywhere. One of the blogging greats and I had a conversation about that at the Comp Laude Gala program yesterday. As we merrily chatted about blogging, we immersed in our world and those around us dimmed. Blogging is a topic that can engross us because it has become part of what we do. I have struggled with it. My posts are longer than many. And, admittedly, are just not as entertaining or funny as some.  I wish my blogs were more humorous and entertaining, but that is not me. I envy the way that other bloggers like Bob Wilson weave their humanity and lives into their writing. That ability was one of the traits I admired most about David DePaolo. His life was on display in his writing, from his involvement with charity to the struggles of his aging parents. My writing is not about me, in that wa...

  October 20, 2017 LANGHAM'S THOUGHTS ON PEOPLE'S CHOICE AT THE COMP LAUDE AWARDS AND GALA By David Langham In 2016, I introduced readers to the  People’s Choice program  at Comp Laude. I remember when no one knew what Comp Laude itself was; boy has that changed. But in 2016, David DePaolo  started the People’s Choice  segment, built around a “TED Talk” format of very short (less than 6 minutes) presentations by a spectrum of workers’ compensation constituents. I recall last winter, after the Laude program, I ran into a “Comp Laudian” (© Langham, 2017) and the People’s Choice came up (s/he had no idea I had been the chair of the selection committee that year). As we discussed how s/he enjoyed the format and the speakers, s/he made a telling comment, “how do you even get nominated for that?” Well, obviously not an assiduous reader of my blog-wanderings (see links above).   The People’s Choice speakers are not elected or even nominated. They each submitted a ...

  October 02, 2017 THE INNS OF COURT MOVEMENT By: Judge David Langham I was invited recently to speak at an Inns of Court meeting in Jacksonville. The gathering was scheduled in early September, but was delayed because a crasher named Irma showed up. She showed up uninvited, unwanted, and unloved. No on loves a hurricane (in fairness, there are those in Miami who root for “The Hurricanes” but that’s different). So, I found myself headed east last Tuesday. People often forget the geographic size of Florida, but from Pensacola to Jacksonville is almost 400 miles. There and back in one day is a significant trip.  The Inns of Court are a tremendous movement. They are also a young movement. The first American Inn was founded in 1980, so a history of only 37 years. I have been a member of the Pensacola Inn of Court for about fifteen years. The Inns are designed around providing education in a general sense, but more so around building professional relationships and mentoring. Mentor...