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I could really use some advice from any practicing attorneys on here! I’ve been practicing for just over 3 years. I started my career in medical malpratice and elder abuse defense at a fairly well known and reputable mid-size firm.

While I had plenty of flexibility, the workload was absolutely nuts. I couldn’t handle that or the 200 hour monthly billable. I’m sure some people are perfectly capable of it, but I’m not one of them.

I left the firm after about a year in the hopes of finding a job with just a bit more breathing room. Long story short, I took a med mal/elder abuse position at a small plaintiffs’ firm. To say that it turned out to be even more “over the top” than the defense position would be an understatement. My caseload was massive. I had a minimally useful paralegal, and no real assistance.

In the meantime, I’ve heard from a couple people in work comp defense that it pays well, it’s more relaxed, and it’s a much better lifestyle than civil litigation. From others, I have heard that work comp is a joke and that it is essentially careeer suicide. I was recently offered a position at a large work comp defense firm making quite a bit more money. When I put in my notice at my current job, my managing partner essentially told me I was committing career suicide and urged me to stay on in exchange for a small salary bump. I declined.

To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s just attorneys being attorneys and talking/parroting/repeating nonsense without actually knowing, or if the advice should be taken seriously.

I need advice, please! I understand this is admin vs civil but I am terrified that I could be “killing my career” with this move. Is work comp a dead end, or is that just a bunch of talk?

Does anyone have any advice?

While I am not personally knowledgeable about the market or career prospects for workers' compensation defense counsel, I can suggest a process. Use google advanced search with the following formula: "name of your law school" ("workers compensation" OR "employment law")

This search will yield alumni from your school who practice in the area. Send them an email along the lines of "I am considering changing practice areas and I would appreciate a few minutes of your time to discuss workers' compensation work." Then ask them about their career and generally whether they are happy about their decision to practice in the area.

Good luck.

Ab3313 wrote:I could really use some advice from any practicing attorneys on here! I’ve been practicing for just over 3 years. I started my career in medical malpratice and elder abuse defense at a fairly well known and reputable mid-size firm.

While I had plenty of flexibility, the workload was absolutely nuts. I couldn’t handle that or the 200 hour monthly billable. I’m sure some people are perfectly capable of it, but I’m not one of them.

I left the firm after about a year in the hopes of finding a job with just a bit more breathing room. Long story short, I took a med mal/elder abuse position at a small plaintiffs’ firm. To say that it turned out to be even more “over the top” than the defense position would be an understatement. My caseload was massive. I had a minimally useful paralegal, and no real assistance.

In the meantime, I’ve heard from a couple people in work comp defense that it pays well, it’s more relaxed, and it’s a much better lifestyle than civil litigation. From others, I have heard that work comp is a joke and that it is essentially careeer suicide. I was recently offered a position at a large work comp defense firm making quite a bit more money. When I put in my notice at my current job, my managing partner essentially told me I was committing career suicide and urged me to stay on in exchange for a small salary bump. I declined.

To be honest, I’m not sure if it’s just attorneys being attorneys and talking/parroting/repeating nonsense without actually knowing, or if the advice should be taken seriously.

I need advice, please! I understand this is admin vs civil but I am terrified that I could be “killing my career” with this move. Is work comp a dead end, or is that just a bunch of talk?

5 years at a CA WC def firm:

1. Great hours. Attorneys are out of the office by 5 everyday.
2. Very low stress. There is no such thing as a tight deadline in WC.
3. Billable hours are not insane.
4. DO NOT DO APPLICANT. Def is great because your clients are professional adjusters who know how to do their jobs.
5. 3 years experience could start you at ~120k+ not including bonuses (major city).

Is work comp dead? Yes, when people stop getting injured at work.

Is it a joke? For those who care about superficial labels and prestige, maybe. For those who want a good paying job, little to no stress and a great salary (for the number of hours), not at all.

Lastly, the idea that performing well in any area of law would be "career killing" is ridiculous. I personally know over a dozen who have lateraled into civil lit and employment law. However, it is wise to compare WC to what else you could be doing and how that fits in with your long term career goals.

Anonymous User wrote:
5 years at a CA WC def firm:

1. Great hours. Attorneys are out of the office by 5 everyday.
2. Very low stress. There is no such thing as a tight deadline in WC.
3. Billable hours are not insane.
4. DO NOT DO APPLICANT. Def is great because your clients are professional adjusters who know how to do their jobs.
5. 3 years experience could start you at ~120k+ not including bonuses (major city).

I'm curious now, since you wrote in all caps. I interviewed at a worker's comp firm once, applicant side, they seemed pretty cool but office was bleak. Didn't know much about it at all until I interviewed. Could you elaborate on #4?

Workers' compensation tends to be a pretty specialized area of practice. The compensability of a claim can turn on limited facts so if you just dabble in it, it's easy to get burned. The workers' comp bar, at least where I practice in Northern Virginia is pretty small. I probably know 1/2 of the active attorneys. The hours tend to be flexible on the claimant's side since everything is done electronically. It is also a lot less formal than in court litigation. The defense side tends to be a grind only because the billable rate is low and carriers tend to apply all manner of discounts and bill review to grind your bill down even where there really is no logical support for it. You also need to get used to analyzing large quantities of medical records. Dealing with adjusters isn't always great. They tend to make economic decisions that are based on false legal assumptions. They also tend to be lazy which makes getting them to do, authorize or pay something a chore. If you get into a firm as a comp associate, you may want to network inside the firm to pick up other work to diversify your experience, especially if you intend to do something else long term.

Our firm has a niche practice where we will take on settlement of workers comp claims related to third party lawsuits. Other attorneys will send us their liens to settle and the goal is to create positive value on the lien by settling the claim out vs the normal routine of settling with a subro adjuster which is typically just making a hole in the injury settlement. I wrote a post about the settlement of third-party workers compensation lien here. https://www.reedlawva.com/workers-compe ... otiations/ It's just one example of how you can make the profession your own if you specialize enough on something nobody else seems interested in.