Thank you for a nice, timely article, but there are a couple of factors that may be significant.
The DWC District Offices is an administrative hearing division of the Executive Branch and allows non-attorneys to appear and represent clients in legal matters, These hearing representatives may represent insurance carriers, injured workers (under the supposed supervision of an attorney who may have never actually been seen by anyone) and lien claimants. Although the WCAB has authority to suspend such representatives per Labor Code section 4907, not to mention Labor Code 5813 sanctions, they do not have the threat of State bar disciplinary proceedings to govern their behavior when appearing at the DWC District Offices.
Also, this is not just a problem at the DWC District Offices. One of the WCALJs at one of the DWC District Offices at which I often appear noted that this is a topic of discussion among Superior Court judges who attend inns of court meetings who observe that newer attorneys often have not been sufficiently instructed or mentored regarding how to behave when appearing in court. Some of that is also blamed on a shortage of uniformed bailiffs, particularly in Civil Litigation departments.
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Thank you for a nice, timely article, but there are a couple of factors that may be significant.
The DWC District Offices is an administrative hearing division of the Executive Branch and allows non-attorneys to appear and represent clients in legal matters, These hearing representatives may represent insurance carriers, injured workers (under the supposed supervision of an attorney who may have never actually been seen by anyone) and lien claimants. Although the WCAB has authority to suspend such representatives per Labor Code section 4907, not to mention Labor Code 5813 sanctions, they do not have the threat of State bar disciplinary proceedings to govern their behavior when appearing at the DWC District Offices.
Also, this is not just a problem at the DWC District Offices. One of the WCALJs at one of the DWC District Offices at which I often appear noted that this is a topic of discussion among Superior Court judges who attend inns of court meetings who observe that newer attorneys often have not been sufficiently instructed or mentored regarding how to behave when appearing in court. Some of that is also blamed on a shortage of uniformed bailiffs, particularly in Civil Litigation departments.