Off-site Archive

  November 21, 2018 THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAY? By Judge David Langham We pause this week to give thanks. As I sat to pen this piece, I asked myself for what am I thankful? That is easy to answer in so many personal ways. If I could channel the open-book frankness of David DePaolo, I would share all of those personal feelings. But, alas, I am instead both shy and private. For me, sharing of my non-professional life is exceedingly rare, and is not forthcoming today. As to why I am professionally thankful, instead of personally though, I will strive to express myself. But first, I digress in the spirit of the holiday. The first Thanksgiving was in 1621, as the legend goes. According to the  History Channel , “colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations.” That was almost 400 years ago, and perhaps the upcoming 400th celebration will require a commemoration that is exceptional? You know, per...

  October 19, 2018 NORMALCY? By Judge David Langham This week I am watching people traverse a proverbial long road to normalcy. On Sunday, October 7, 2018 Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in 26 Florida counties. This stretched from the Alabama state line (Pensacola) to Interstate 75 (Columbia County, around Lake City). The breadth was over 300 miles. #Michael had formed in the lower Gulf of Mexico and pred ictions showed him headed  north,  fast. Predictions are a difficult thing. Many people discuss disasters, particularly immediately after one. Whether flood, earthquake, fire, tornado, hurricane, or otherwise, people have both lived through one and recovered from one. To a person, they all  acknowledge the impact and the effect on their lives. But, they also seem eager to compare their own risk to others’. We hear “at least with _______” there is _____,” or “at least we did not have to face ________.” There is a tendency to find something i...

  August 27, 2018 PEOPLE'S CHOICE AND COMP LAUDE® FROM L Comp Laude draws near once again.  Each time I dictate that, my software types “comp loudly.”  This year it will be October 9 through 11 in San Diego,  details are here . Comp Laude began like so many things we do, with a vision or a dream. It has grown and expanded, morphed and restructured. Reflecting on its history, I am reminded once again that the only constant in our lives is change. I have written about Comp Laude a few times, and about my favorite part, the  Peoples’  Choice Awards , back to that in a moment.  To recap, David DePaolo conceived the  Peoples’  Choice  in 2016. The Comp Laude had been launched in 2011 with a vision to recognition and appreciation that our workers’ compensation community was praiseworthy. We all recognize that there are both people and practices that misapply the mission of workers’ compensation; they stray and impugn , sometimes infect  u...

  July 30, 2018 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT OUR CONSTITUTION By Judge David Langham One of the best parts of my occupation is that I get many opportunities to engage in conversation with brilliant lawyers and other members of the workers compensation community. The i r musings and prognostications are frankly fascinating. I find myself agreeing,  disagreeing,  or asking questions ; s ometimes all three . Mentally it is great exercise. I recently had such a conversation in which my views on rights were challenged.  An  individual explain ed  to me, in much kinder words, that  someone of my intellect  would be lucky to discern my  own  head from a hole in the ground. The dismissive tone, combined with a look of sheer pity in the speaker ’ s eyes, c ombined for a persuasive effect. The speaker felt so sorry for me that I almost began to feel sorry for myself. BUT, then I realized that this person was so far off base that it was not even baseball a...