Total Credits: 7 CLE, 2 Ethics, 1 Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation Specialization, 7 Workers' Compensation Law Specialization
The annual workers' compensation seminar features staples like case law and legislative updates as well as topics on ethics, medical subjects and technology issues.
Co-Chairs:
Hon. Jonathan Hauer, Industrial Commission of Arizona
Javier Puig, Lundmark Barberich LaMont & Puig PC
Agenda
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. ICA Update
Dennis Kavanaugh, Chairman Commissioner, Industrial Commission of Arizona
Gaetano Testini, Director, Industrial Commission of Arizona
9:00 - 10:00 a.m Benefits of Yoga and Meditation for Lawyers with Guided Group Yoga and Meditation
Hon. LuAnn Haley, Industrial Commission of Arizona
Tanja Bungardt-Price, Canyon Ranch Tucson
10:15 - 11:15 a.m. Modern Concepts in the Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Dr. Harvinder Bedi, Camelback Spine Care
11:15 - 12:15 p.m. Emerging Trends in Discipline
Maret Vessella, Chief Bar Counsel, State Bar of Arizona
12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Workers' Comp Section Luncheon (separate ticketed event)
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Case Law Update and Legislative Review
Case Law: Rob Forman, Dix & Forman PC
R. Todd Lundmark, Lundmark, Barberich, La Mont & Puig PC
Legislative: Diana Ezrre Robles, Snow Carpio & Weekley PLC
Mark Kendall, CopperPoint Insurance Companies
3:45 - 4:45 p.m. Labor Market Consultant Perspective Post-COVID
Lisa Clapp, VocMedEcon
Dr. Staci Schonbrun, Labor Market Consulting Services
For more information on hotel reservations and location, please visit: azbar.org/workerscomp
| 2024 Workers' Compensation Manual (22.9 MB) | 303 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Dennis Kavanaugh has been serving as chair of the Industrial Commission of Arizona since April 2023. In this role he also serves on the ICA Special Fund Investment Committee. In January 2024 he was appointed to the Dispute Resolution and Regulatory committees of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC).
Dennis has extensive background in worker compensation law. As an attorney for the Arizona Legislative Council from 1978 to 1984, Dennis was responsible for drafting worker compensation legislation. From 1984 to 1988 Dennis served first as an attorney and then as Chief Counsel of the Industrial Commission. In this position, he supervised Commission staff attorneys and provided representation and defense of the Commission before administrative law judges, the Superior Court, the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court. As ICA Chief Counsel, Dennis drafted worker compensation legislation, rules of procedure, and, on occasion, represented the Industrial Commission before the Arizona Legislature. Dennis worked in private practice from 1988 to 2021 when he retired and closed his law firm. He handled worker compensation and Social Security Disability matters. While Dennis primarily represented applicants in worker compensation claims, for a period of time he also represented several self-insured employers. He was a certified specialist in worker compensation for more than thirty years.
Dennis received his J.D. degree in 1978 from Arizona State University and a B.A. in Political Science (magna cum laude) from St. Louis University in 1975. He was awarded memberships in Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Sigma Nu (National Jesuit Honor Society).
Dennis has been very active in public service. He was elected four times to serve on the Mesa City Council, including two terms as Mesa Vice Mayor. He has served on regional, state and national boards, including time as chair of Valley Metro, chair of the Arizona Commission on the Arts and as a board member of the National League of Cities. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards over the years and currently serves as president of the Arizona Museum of Natural History Foundation, board chair of Visit Mesa, and president of the Palo Verde Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and as a founding and ongoing board member of the Mesa Preservation Foundation. He is a longtime member of the Mesa Rotary Club and the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. Dennis was named Mesa’s Man of the Year in 2015.
Gaetano Testini was appointed by Governor Hobbs as the Director of the Industrial Commission of Arizona in September 2024. Prior to this appointment he served the Industrial Commission of Arizona as the Chief Counsel, and as an Administrative Law Judge. He is certified by the State Bar of Arizona as a workers' compensation specialist, and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of Workers' Compensation Advisory Board.
Mr. Testini served on the State Bar of Arizona's Board of Governors. He is a 2010-2011 graduate of the State Bar of Arizona's Bar Leadership Institute, and the inaugural class of the Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy and has returned to the program as an instructor.
Mr. Testini serves as an adjunct professor for Grand Canyon University, and for Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law.
Honorable LuAnn Haley has been an Administrative Law Judge with the Industrial Commission of Arizona since 1999. Judge Haley graduated from college and law school in Pennsylvania and received her Juris Doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law in 1981. She practiced law in Pennsylvania from 1981 through 1998 before moving to Arizona in 1998. She continues to be admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and also has been licensed in Arizona since 1999. While practicing in Pennsylvania, she handled workers’ compensation cases for employers, carriers and self-insured employers. Judge Haley has been a frequent lecturer for continuing legal education seminars in both Arizona and Pennsylvania and also serves on the CLE committee for the State Bar of Arizona’s Workers’ Compensation Section. Judge Haley is a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers and serves on the Executive Committee for the organization. In addition, she is a member of the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary and serves as is one of the editors for the NAWCJ’s monthly newsletter.
Tanja Bungardt-Price, CAP, E-RYT, Fitness Instructor. Tanja teaches yoga, meditation, pranayama (yogic breathing techniques), and QiGong at Canyon Ranch, Tucson. As a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner, she also holds lectures and workshops. Tanja has been part of our Fitness & Movement team at Canyon Ranch Tucson since 2018 and has worked and trained within the Ayurvedic health field for many years. She is an Ayurvedic Counselor, Practitioner, and Panchakarma Technician. After studying Ashtanga Yoga in India in 2011, she opened a clinical Ayurveda practice in Tucson. Tanja has been a presenter at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine since 2015. She also hosts workshops, classes, and Yoga Teacher Training nationwide. Tanja earned her BFA in Illustration, Media Arts, and Animation from the Illinois Institute of Art. She is a Certified Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT), a NAMA Board Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner (CAP), and a medical QiGong practitioner.
In Tanja’s downtime, she can often be found practicing what she loves to teach: yoga, pranayama, and meditation. She also enjoys outdoor adventures, including hiking in Arizona and travel.
Harvinder S. Bedi, MD, of Camelback Spine Care, is a board-certified spine surgeon with an outstanding reputation in his field, who is bringing exceptional medical services and innovative technologies to residents of Sun City, Arizona, and Phoenix, Arizona suffering from neck and back pain.
Dr. Bedi began his career at State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, graduating with a medical degree in 2006. He completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Buffalo in New York, receiving the Theodore Papademetriou Award for excellence in orthopedic research and education.
In 2011, Dr. Bedi undertook a combined neurosurgical and orthopedic spine fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, one of America’s foremost spine centers. The fellowship gave Dr. Bedi invaluable experience performing advanced spinal surgery techniques using cutting-edge technologies. He’s now an acknowledged expert in cervical, thoracic, and lumbar disorders of the spine, as well as degenerative disorders, spinal trauma, deformity, minimally invasive surgery, artificial disc replacement, and computer-assisted navigation.
Maret Vessella is the Chief Bar Counsel at the State Bar of Arizona. Ms. Vessella graduated from Duquesne University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. She received her Juris Doctor in 1992 from Ohio Northern University College of Law. In November 1992, Ms. Vessella was admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and began her practice in a small firm concentrating in the areas of criminal defense and domestic relations. In 1994, Ms. Vessella was hired as Disciplinary Counsel for the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania where she prosecuted cases involving violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct. In October 1998, Ms. Vessella was licensed in Arizona and took a position with the State Bar of Arizona as Bar Counsel where she represented the State Bar in various disciplinary matters. Ms. Vessella was named Deputy Chief Bar Counsel in September 2002 and became Chief Bar Counsel in August 2009. Chief Bar Counsel maintains the Lawyer Regulation Office at the State Bar. She is responsible for the coordination and supervision of investigations of lawyer misconduct and oversees all prosecutorial functions associated with the regulation of the practice of law in Arizona.
Ms. Vessella is a member of the American Bar Association, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, and the National Organization of Bar Counsel. Ms. Vessella regularly serves as faculty for continuing legal education and rehabilitative programs relating to professional responsibility, lawyer discipline and professionalism. Ms. Vessella was appointed to the Supreme Court of Arizona’s Attorney Regulation Advisory Committee and has served on various Supreme Court Committees as well as State Bar Committees. Ms. Vessella served on the ABA Standing Committee on Professional Discipline, the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism and has served as a member of multiple ABA consultations teams that are invited by the State Supreme Court to evaluate their discipline systems. Ms. Vessella received the State Bar of Arizona President’s Award in 2011 for her efforts in implementing the new lawyer discipline system in Arizona.
Rob Forman is a partner at Dix & Forman, P.C. and represents applicants at the Industrial Commission and plaintiffs in Superior Court. He has been practicing workers' compensation law for over 30 years, has been a certified specialist in workers' compensation law since 1991, and has been a frequent speaker at workers' compensation seminars. Rob has brought joy and wisdom to the many fortunate witnesses to his speeches and is loved by all.
R. Todd Lundmark has been a member of the State Bar of Arizona since 1981. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Arizona in 1978, and his J.D. in 1981 from Arizona State University College of Law. Certified by the Arizona Bar as a workers' compensation specialist since 1991, he is a co-editor and co-author of the Arizona Workers' Compensation Handbook (State Bar of Arizona, 1992).
Mark Kendall is currently Vice President of Legal Services with CopperPoint’s Legal and Regulatory Affairs Division. Primary duties include executive management of in-house legal services and coordination of CopperPoint legislative initiatives.
He received his B.A. in Political Science from Northern Arizona University in 1983 and a M.A. in International Relations from the University of Arizona in 1986. He received his J.D. from Arizona State University in 1988 and a Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Justice Studies in the year 2000. He is a certified specialist in workers’ compensation and has limited his practice to workers’ compensation defense for the past 30 years. He is the current chair of the Workers’ Compensation section of the State Bar of Arizona and actively engaged in continuing legal education in workers’ compensation. Mark is a member of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and serves as chair of its Workplace, Workers’ Compensation, and Insurance Committee. Mark also serves as an Executive Board Member and Chair of the Finance Committee for Children’s Action Alliance, Arizona’s premier children’s advocacy organization.
Lisa Clapp holds a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Professional Counseling from Ottawa University in Phoenix, Arizona, and a Bachelor's Science Degree in Communication from Northern Arizona University with a minor in Economics. She also completed the University of Florida's 120-hour professional development Life Care Planning course. Ms. Clapp is the President of VocMedEcon responsible for the supervision of other rehabilitation professionals on staff in Phoenix, Arizona. She has functioned as a vocational and rehabilitation consultant, earnings analyst, life care planner, labor market consultant and expert witness with her company since April 1999. She specializes in rehabilitation vocational counseling, future medical care assessment, evaluation, and job placement services of individuals who have diminished capacity to compete in the labor market as a result of accident, illness or environmental conditions. Ms. Clapp has worked in her field since 1990. Ms. Clapp holds the professional designations of Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC No. 00015376), Certified Earning Analyst (CEA No. C-0040) and Certified Life Care Planner (CLCP No. 1267). She has held office in professional organizations including the positions of past president (two-year term), past vice president and treasurer of the Arizona State Chapter of International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals. Ms. Clapp is a current member of the Forensic Section and Life Care Planning Section of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (past President of the Forensic Section Board); current member of the American Rehabilitation Economics Association (President of the Board 2013-2014). She was sponsored for and granted induction tot eh Collegium of Pecuniary Damages Experts December 2009. Ms. Clapp is a published author, in service educator and presents at industry related conferences and seminars on a variety of vocational, expert witness, and counseling related topics. Ms. Clapp has been qualified as a vocational/earnings analyst expert before Superior Court (Arizona), Federal Court (Arizona) and Industrial Commissions of Arizona and California 1991 to present.
Staci Schonbrun PHD, CRC, CDMS, CCM, CLCP is a labor market consultant and life care planner. She performs research and analysis on cases pertaining to disability, loss of earning capacity and medical care costs throughout the United States and internationally. Dr. Schonbrun holds a master’s degree in health science from the University of Florida and a doctorate in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Arizona. She hold post doctorate certification in life care planning from the University of Florida. Dr. Schonbrun is certified as a rehabilitation counselor, case manager, disability management specialist, and life care planner.
Jonathan Hauer, Administrative Law Judge, joined the Industrial Commission of Arizona in 2014 as an Administrative Law Judge. During his time in the workers' compensation community, Judge Hauer has been the Commission's Assistant Chief Counsel, a Vice Chief Administrative Law Judge, and counsel for injured workers. Before joining the Industrial Commission, Judge Hauer worked in the private sector, where he represented clients in employment-related litigation. Judge Hauer received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and obtained his law degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.
Javier Puig has a background in child psychology and practiced in that field prior to attending law school in 2001. He is a 2004 graduate of UNLV Wm. S. Boyd School of Law with a visitorship at Arizona State University. After graduating from Law School Javier served as a prosecutor for the Maricopa County Attorney’s office in adult and juvenile court. He was then transferred to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Civil Division where he handled Civil Mental Health commitments and worked with the newly developed special healthcare district. He was then hired by SCF AZ (now Copper Point Mutual) as in-house counsel. Javier then represented applicants until mid-2017. Javier obtained his Specialization in Workers Compensation Law in May 2013. When he’s not diligently covering workers’ compensation matters with his current defense firm Lundmark, Barberich, LaMont & Puig as their managing partner, you can find him playing with his Goldendoodle or hovering over the table of food at any social gathering.
Diana Ezrré Robles attended the University of Arizona, and obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Merchandising, with a minor in Marketing in 1992. She went on to attend the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, graduating with her Juris Doctorate in 1997. During law school, she served as a Judicial Law Clerk for The Honorable Gilbert Velez. She also participated in the Domestic Violence Law Clinic, where she helped women and children obtain legal relief from abusive relationships. She continued to volunteer in this capacity until 2001.
Prior to joining Snow, Carpio & Weekley, PLC in 2013, she practiced in the areas of Personal Injury, Wrongful Death and Medical Malpractice for most of her legal career, and has also done some family law work. She now focuses her practice in Worker’s Compensation Law. Diana is a current Member of the State Bar of Arizona (SBA), the Pima County Bar Association (PCBA), and the Arizona Association of Lawyers for Injured Workers (AALIW). She has served as Co-Chairperson of the SBA’s Workers Compensation Section Continuing Legal Education Committee.
Diana has a long standing commitment to the Tucson community and volunteers at several local service organizations. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Diocese of Tucson Parish Pooled Investment Trust and the Diocese of Tucson’s Finance Council Board. In addition she serves as Secretary on the Executive Board for Kids’ Chance of Arizona.
