A contingent of 10 Boxer & Gerson attorneys paid their respects last week to newly appointed Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board Commissioner Craig Snellings at a reception held in his honor in downtown Oakland. Snellings was appointed to the statewide board in early January by outgoing Governor Jerry Brown and was quickly confirmed by the State Senate.
The seven-member Appeals Board Commission hears cases after a judge has previously issued a ruling on a workers’ comp case and the losing side files an appeal.
Snellings is a former workers’ comp defense attorney who had faced Boxer & Gerson’s applicant attorneys across the table many times over the five years he served in that role with the San Francisco-based firm of Hartsuyker, Stratman & Williams-Abrego. Though both sides battle mightily on behalf of their respective clients, the legal profession’s ethos of mutual respect, decorum and collegiality ensures that, as in this instance, opposing counsel can gather for occasions that acknowledge individual accomplishments such as appointments, awards, and charity events.
Snellings earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from UCLA in 1993, then returned there to law school to earn his J.D. in 1998. He is pictured above at second from left along with Boxer & Gerson attorneys Maria Grasso, Tiffany Speers and Deirdre Mochel, and defense lawyer Kevin Shaw, a partner with the statewide firm of Shaw, Jacobsmeyer, Crain & Claffey.
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