State News : Texas

A great deal of movement within the Division of Workers’ Compensation this month.  San Antonio Administrative Law Judge Gilbert Atkinson has departed to resume his pre-DWC career as an insurance carrier rep.  We wish him nothing but the best, of course.  

Replacing Mr. Atkinson is John Bull, a former municipal court administrative judge in Bexar County for more than two decades. Judge Bull graduated from St. Mary’s University Law School in 1990, where he later became an adjunct professor of trial advocacy. Most recently, Judge Bull spent three years as the Chief Public Defender in Kerrville, Texas.  

The DWC has also hired Raegan Lynn Lambert as a traveling Administrative Law Judge. She graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 2000 but commenced her career as an Assistant District Attorney in New York.  Thereafter, she served as a Hearing Officer for the New York City Department of Education before returning to Texas to start her own law practice. Judge Lambert has extensive experience with the state, first as an Assistant Attorney General investigating white collar crime, then as Assistant Chief Counsel of General Litigation and Anti-Fraud with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.  

Rebecca Allen, the Docketing Team Lead for the northern and western regions, left the Division at the end of May for a new career in the nursing field.  Her duties have been taken over by Misty Haygood, who now oversees docketing for Benefit Review Conferences and Contested Case Hearings for the entire state. Ms. Allen’s years of tireless service to the DWC and its system participants are surely appreciated.

Jennifer Hopens, the Director of the Appeals Panel since 2017, is also departing after seventeen years with the DWC. She has reportedly taken a position at Child Protective Services, for which we certainly wish her well.  

Finally, Aida Johnson, a Benefit Review Officer in the Fort Worth region, is retiring this summer to spend time with her family and whatever adventures that might bring.  The decision is bittersweet for system participants, who have long appreciated Ms. Johnson’s courtesy, open mindedness, and cheerful spirit, which has been known to calm even the most contentious mediation.  While we are happy for the meaningful time with her family she is about to enjoy, we in the realm of Texas workers’ compensation will miss her immeasurably.