A Love Letter to Jim Lanier

If you want to know where to find Jim Lanier, look on the side that is right and that is just.  Jim Lanier’s compass points in right direction.  In 2018, when Jim joined Warnken, LLC, I knew we had just made an important addition to the workers’ comp team. Not long after, Jim was a 2021 inductee to the College of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys.

Also in 2021, Jim was on the shortlist for judge.  The shortlist was an achievement in and of itself – people who mattered said, “Hey Governor, this guy Lanier is worthy of consideration for a really important job in our society.”

Jim was qualified to be a judge.  He has a ton of experience in multiple practice areas.  He’s been plaintiff/claimant and defense.  He cares about the community, the Bar, and his clients.

But perhaps above all else, Jim cares about the injured worker and the system meant to provide a just relief to the injured worker.  His reputation had preceded him when former Governor Larry Hogan did his homework. Hogan, in Jim’s interview for the bench, asked, “Jim, wouldn’t you be a better fit as a Workers’ Comp Commissioner?”

In a typical Jim answer, Jim replied, “Governor, I will go where you best think I can serve the citizens of Maryland.”

A few years later, Jim remains with Warnken, LLC.  We’re better off, as are injured workers. Not just his clients, but all injured workers.

The Robert J. Zarbin Legislative Advocacy Award

It is not just former Governors and his colleagues at Warnken, LLC who recognize his contributions.  The Maryland Association for Justice has just given Jim Lanier the 2024 Robert J. Zarbin Legislative Advocacy Award! This award is given in recognition of exemplary legislative advocacy efforts in support of civil justice for the citizens of Maryland. The award will be given this Friday, April 12, 2024.

Congratulations, Jim!!

(Congratulations, also, to Jim’s co-winners, Patrice Meredith Clarke and David Harak.)

Jim has been advocating for fair laws for injured workers for years. The workers’ comp system, the Labor and Employment article of the code, and COMAR are full of small elements that can have big impact on the life of the injured worker. No issue therein is too small or too big to be analyzed and made more just and Jim is tireless at the task.

The Future for Jim Lanier

Jim Lanier has accomplished a lot. He is the immediate past chair of the Negligence, Insurance and Workers’ Compensation section of the Maryland State Bar Association. He is the current co-chair of the Maryland Association for Justice workers’ compensation section (with his Warnken, LLC colleague Rebecca Smith). He is the co-author of the MSBA’s Workers’ Compensation Manual, a comprehensive guide to workers’ compensation in Maryland and he co-taught the MSBA’s seminal course on workers’ compensation. He has represented thousands of injured workers, often in some of the most complex and catastrophic cases.

I have no doubt that our former Governor is correct – Jim is meant to be a Workers’ Compensation Commissioner with the Maryland WCC. Until then, his colleagues at Warnken, LLC remain grateful that he is with us. And injured workers are grateful also. Whether it is as a Commissioner, as an advocate, or as an endlessly giving community member, Jim has been, and will be, a huge asset to workers’ compensation in Maryland.

Thanks, Jim.