On January 19, 2018 the Miami District Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims held the Investiture of two new JCC's, the Honorable Walter Havers and the Honorable Jeffrey Jacobs. It was a wonderful ceremony attended by all of the Miami JCC's, retired JCC Charles M. Hill, the Chair of the Worker's Compensation Section of the Florida Bar Leo Garcia, and many distinguished members of the worker's compensation section of the Bar.
Both of these new JCC's are fine gentlemen and scholars who bring a wealth of experience to the position. The event offered attendees the opportunity to get to know more about both of them.
Judge Havers played a pivotal role in the implentation of the electronic filing or EJCC system, with an emphasis on the electronic transmission of appeals which has saved the system millions of dollars to date and will continue doing so into the future. He also served as legal advisor to the Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims and assistant to the Deputy Chief Judge of Compensation Claims. He developed rules of procedure, policies, and production methods to improve the workflow and efficiency of the OJCC. In addition, he represented Judges of Compensation Claims before the First District Court of Appeal in cases involving Petitions for Writs of Mandamus and Prohibition.
Judge Jacobs has served as Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section, Program Chair of Workers’ Compensation Forum, Chair of the Dade County Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Committee, Vice Chair of The Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Rules Advisory Committee, Chair of The Florida Bar Workers’ Compensation Rules Committee, and as an instructor with the Workers’ Compensation Trial Advocacy Program. He has has lectured at numerous seminars on various workers’ compensation topics. In addition to workers’ compensation, he has practiced a variety of other fields of law.
Both of these gentlemen are well suited to the task of handling the intense litigation environment in Miami. Our Firm looks forward to working with these new JCC's for years to come on behalf of our clients.