This past weekend, several members of our Harris Federal team attended the 20th annual Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG) Convention in Chicago. We are proud to say two of our attorneys, Brad Harris and Leah Bachmeyer Kille, were featured for their outstanding commitment to workers injury law.
WILG is a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of injured workers and their families. The convention was held downtown at the Westin River North Hotel, where WILG members from across the country gathered to network and attend educational lectures presented by specialized attorneys.
Brad Harris, senior attorney at Harris Federal Law Firm, served as MC for the weekend, and was awarded the “Rising Star” for his leadership and accomplishment in service to WILG. Harris is a member of the group’s Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) section, and has provided many educational classes to WILG members regarding workers compensation law and federal medical disability retirement.
Associate Attorney Leah Bachmeyer Kille was competitively selected as a recipient for the 2015 WILG Scholarship, and was thus awarded the opportunity to present one of the convention’s 14 lectures. Her presentation discussed the potential overlaps between the Office of Workers Compensation Programs (OWCP), the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) when a federal worker has an approved workers’ compensation claim with OWCP but may also have other employment issues. Bachmeyer Kille addressed how workers compensation representative’s should approach these cases to ensure federal employees garners the best available benefits when working with these three distinct federal agencies.
The WILG scholarship allows attorneys with less than 15 years in practice to attend the convention and be actively involved with the WILG Board of Directors for a year. As a scholarship recipient, Bachmeyer Kille had the opportunity to attend the convention early, and participate in the organization’s board meetings. She will continue to meet with WILG leadership throughout the year, and will assist the organization with legal research and membership recruiting efforts. She will also contribute to Workers First Watch, WILG’s biannual publication.
Congratulations to both Leah and Brad! We are so proud of your hard work and dedication to workers injury law and advocacy!
