After more than four decades shaping and defending California workplace safety law, legendary Cal/OSHA attorney Fred Walter is retiring and closing a chapter on a career that helped define an entire practice area.

In a recent Cal-OSHA Reporter feature, Fred reflects on his path into Cal/OSHA defense, which began in the late 1970s in personal injury litigation before a pivotal meeting with Robert “Bob” Peterson, widely regarded as the godfather of the Cal/OSHA defense bar. As the first Chief Counsel for the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board, Peterson pioneered what was then an emerging specialty. Fred followed soon after, becoming only the second attorney to focus full-time on Cal/OSHA defense – a role he would hold for the next 45 years.

The article traces Fred’s firsthand experience with Cal/OSHA’s evolution, Continue reading →

Conn Maciel Carey LLP (“CMC”), a national boutique Labor and Employment and OSHA/MSHA Workplace Safety law firm, is pleased to announce that Kimberly Cole has joined the firm as a Senior Counsel in its Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. Kimberly will support the firm’s national Labor & Employment and Litigation Practices.

Kimberly has more than two decades of experience representing clients in various aspects of California employment law, in counseling and litigation. Her practice ranges from representing corporations in wage and hour disputes from audits to compliance to defense of individual and class action/PAGA claims. She also has defended clients faced with discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower claims from initial demand to jury trial. She has represented clients before administrative agencies and appellate courts. Continue reading →

Conn Maciel Carey LLP (CMC) is honored to announce that the firm is one of only two law firms recognized as “Band 1″ for Occupational Safety and Health Law nationwide.  This is the fourth year in a row that CMC has received the “Band 1” honor, which is every year that Chambers has ranked the OSHA/MSHA Law category, and the firm remains the only “boutique” firm in the rankings.

Six CMC attorneys were individually ranked among a short list of leading OSHA and MSHA lawyers in the Occupational Safety and Health Law Rankings (the most of any firm recognized in the category), making up more than a quarter of the “Band 1” attorneys.

• Eric Conn, OSHA Practice Chair – Ranked “Band 1”
• Kate McMahon, OSHA Partner – Ranked “Band 1”
• Aaron Gelb, Midwest OSHA Practice Chair – Ranked “Band 2”
• Rachel Conn, California Practice Chair – Ranked “Band 3”
• Valerie Butera, OSHA Senior Counsel – Ranked “Band 3”
• Nicholas Scala, MSHA Practice Chair – “Up and Coming”

Client Feedback

Chambers is considered the gold standard for law firm rankings, which it generates based on independent research and feedback from private companies that utilize OSHA legal services. A few client comments about the CMC team in the Chambers research include: Continue reading →