From the Desk of the 'Formerly-Honorable' Susan England:
My retirement as a Workers Compensation Judge is effective April First (no joke).
Since I'm way too young to really retire, Barry Ponticello, Renee St.Clair and I are forming a new defense firm, engaged in workers' compensation, L & H and employment law. We will be opening our doors on Monday, April 2, under the name England, Ponticello & St.Clair. Our office is located in Suite 1790 in the "Darth Vader Building" - the all-black glass building at 701 B Street, San Diego, 92101.
When I came to the Board on September 10, 2001, it was in the hopes of assisting Keith Dietterle, our beloved PJ, with restoring San Diego's good reputation with the community. Keith managed to keep this Board running on a minimal staff, mostly due to his own energy and long hours of work. Through his efforts and those of the other overworked employees at the Board, Keith managed to survive and actually turn around the "bad times."
Shortly after Keith's retirement we began to get fully staffed so that instead of three or four clerks we went to eleven, instead of four secretaries we went to eight, and instead of eight judges we went to ten. With our new PJ, Cliff Levy, the Board seems to be functioning quite well now. There are sufficient judges to give everyone an opportunity to try their cases as they are set. The judges have more support staff so that their time is better spent, making their job more enjoyable and their work more efficient. (Hence, my assessment that the Board can now officially do without me!)
Comparing the statistics from the San Diego office with other Boards around the state, the community should be grateful that we have such a fine and hard working staff at our district office. Despite our reputation in the north, all of the judges get along well and work hard to maintain quality service to the community. The support staff is great and have lent their efforts in establishing and maintaining the efficient functioning of the Board. I have truly enjoyed my work here and my association with the other judges and the staff. I will miss them in my day to day life. Fortunately, I still get to come to the Board for appearances so I can now heckle them as a "customer."
The idea of practicing law again is very exciting to me. The ability to accept speaking and teaching engagements without having to get permission from the administration and without having to worry about conflicts with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board calendar, will be a real treat. It will also be nice not to have to remember to state that "the ideas I express are my own and are not meant to reflect the position of the administration or my fellow judges."
I eagerly anticipate standing in line with everyone, complaining about the service we get from the WCAB, complaining about the length of the lines and how long it takes to just get something taken off calendar. I do not look forward to having other lawyers yell back at me now that I've lost my immunity!
San Diego has a great workers' compensation community -- bench, bar, employers, carriers. Thanks to all of you for making my stay as a workers' compensation judge a positive period in my life. The support the community gave me was and is hugely appreciated. I look forward to my continued association with everyone...
- Susan England
