In the news.

 

 

Boxer & Gerson Partner Maria Grasso had about 90 minutes between leadership positions with the California Lawyers Association (CLA) last weekend as the organization held its annual meeting in Monterey. Grasso no sooner completed her one-year term as Chair of CLA’S Workers’ Compensation Section Executive Committee at 1 p.m. than she was sworn in at 2:30 by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye as one of 17 members of the organization’s Board of Representatives on behalf of the same Workers’ Compensation Section. The CLA represents some 100,000 California attorneys in its various sections broken down by specialty. 

 

Grasso’s tenure as chair of her section’s executive committee (pictured above) was marked by an effort to create highly functional subcommittees devoted to specific activities to help promote the interests of workers’ compensation attorneys.

 

With each of nine subcommittees vested with authority to pursue and accomplish goals particular to it, workers’ comp attorneys across the state benefited in a number of ways. These included enhanced communications via monthly e-newsletters and quarterly journals, increased continuing education opportunities, a sustained focus on ethics, an enhanced website and social media presence, efforts to increase community outreach, increased recognition of exemplary member accomplishments, and greater focus on unpublished cases that, upon review, might be made into citable authority in future cases.

 

Grasso ended her tenure with a final e-newsletter column in which she wrote to her membership:

“Serving as Chair of this group has been one of the most fulfilling professional experiences I have had in 20 years as a lawyer, which I celebrated this year. What made this year as good as it was were the other members of the Executive Committee I had the honor of serving alongside. They are truly some of the hardest working, most dedicated, and kindest people I have ever met…The main reason I made it through this year as Chair was because my committee members supported me every step of the way.”

And then, even closer to home:

“A million thanks to my law partners at Boxer & Gerson for supporting me 100 percent as I served as Chair this last year. There is no way I could have made it without each of you backing me as you did. I acknowledge that serving in this capacity took me away from my family and law firm. Please know I will forever be grateful to each of you for allowing me to have this experience.”