James E. Pocius is the Chairman of the Medicare Set-Aside Practice Group. He acts as national Medicare counsel for several clients and has obtained over 1,000 Medicare Set-Aside Approvals. Most of his practice now concerns Medicare issues in both liability and workers' compensation cases. He negotiated the Medicare set-aside guidelines with CMS and maintains a national Medicare practice. Jim joined Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin in 1992, when the firm assumed his practice in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Since then, he has developed extensive experience in the defense of workers' compensation matters and defense liability claims. Jim has litigated hundreds of workers' compensation cases in the state courts of Pennsylvania, and has also litigated hundreds of federal black lung cases over the last 25 years. He has provided counsel to our clients regarding workers' compensation settlements, workers' compensation issues nationally, and Medicare set-asides. In 2004, Jim was named Legal Advisor to LRP's National Workers' Compensation Program and he is Editor-in-Chief of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce's Workers' Compensation Manual since 2005. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn State University, Jim received his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University in 1978. He served as a Judicial Law Clerk to Common Pleas Judge James J. Walsh until 1979, when he joined a defense firm in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Jim then had his own defense practice from 1987 until 1992. Jim has addressed many groups on a national basis with regard to workers' compensation matters. He has been published nationally in Compleat Lawyer (the ABA publication) and has also been published in the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Quarterly with regard to the Heart and Lung Act and Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act in Pennsylvania. Jim has lectured for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, National Business Institute, Lorman Business Institute, and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and was an adjunct professor at Marywood College teaching workers' compensation in the ABA-approved paralegal program. He served as Vice Chair of the Workers' Compensation Committee in the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section of the American Bar Association from July 2000 until August 2001. Jim is also a member of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. He has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 2006 and 2009 in the area of Workers' Compensation. Jim is a Board Member for the St. Francis soup kitchen in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Significant Representative Matters: · Successfully represented an employer defending a workers' compensation claim after a near fatal car accident. The plaintiff had severe brain damage. Jim was able to prove that the claimant was intoxicated at the time of the accident and received a verdict in favor of the employer. · Represented an employer trucking firm with regard to a Medicare set-aside and was able to reduce the set-aside from $750,000 to $200,000. Year Joined Organization: 1992 Published Works: Multiple articles published in Counterpoint, the official newsletter of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, on behalf of Marshall, Dennehey concerning multiple workers' compensation issues Medicare Set-Asides Go Skyward, Risk & Insurance Magazine, 2006 The Odd Couple: Medicare and Workers' Compensation Settlements, Journal of Construction Accounting and Taxation, 2003 Commonwealth Court Continues to Define 'Incarceration' Under the Workers' Compensation Act, Counterpoint, January, 2000 Commonwealth Court Changes The Rules On Medical Testimony In Pennsylvania, Workers' Compensation PSIA Newsletter, Jan., 1999 Offsets Under Act 57, Co-author; Pennsylvania Bar Institute, September, 1997 Litigation in Workers' Compensation Claims, Co-author; American Bar Association, Compleat Lawyer, July, 1997 Defining the ADA, Co-author; Pennsylvanian Magazine, May, 1997 Analysis of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act, (Federal Black Lung), Co-author; International Risk Management, 1996 Interaction Between the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act and the Heart and Lung Act, Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly, July, 1995 Attorney's Fees and Penalties, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 1992 Classes/Seminars Taught: Panel speaker, National Council of Self Insurers conference regarding selection of TPAs and how to get along with your TPA once selected, 2008 Speaker at the National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference regarding Medicare set-asides, 2005 -- 2008 Speaker, Regarding Various Problems and Analysis in Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation, Lorman Business Institute, 1992 - 1997 Speaker, "Twenty-Four Hour Coverage and National Trends in Workers' Compensation", Member, C.P.C.U. Society - Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1997 Speaker, "Setoffs under Act 57", Pennsylvania Bar Institute "Repetitive Trauma in Workers' Compensation Cases", American Bar Association, 1996, 1997 Panel Speaker, Regarding Combined Problems of Workers' Compensation, Unemployment and Americans with Disabilities Act from the Defense Viewpoint, National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference The Holding By the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the Randall v. Bethlehem Steel Case Affirming Termination, Pennsylvania Bar Institute - Fall Program, 1996 Analysis of Act 57 and Predictions for the Future, C.P.C.U. Society - Reading, Pennsylvania, 1996 "Attorney's Fees and Penalties under the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act", Pennsylvania Bar Institute - Fall Program, 1992 Numerous in-service presentations for various employers, insurance companies and self-insured administrators in Scranton and the surrounding areas. All of these in-house presentations dealt with issues pertaining to workers' compensation or federal black lung. Associate Professor of Legal Studies Program, Maryland College, Scranton, 1987, 1989, 1991 Honors and Awards: Outstanding Author Award, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce (1998) AV Peer Review Rating by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell PESI Dedication to Excellence and Continuing Professional Education Award (2002) Pennsylvania Super Lawyer (2005-2009) Professional Associations and Memberships: American Bar Association, Member, Vice Chair of the Workers' Compensation Committee Lackawanna County Bar Association National Council of Self Insurers Pennsylvania Bar Association Pennsylvania Defense Institute Past Employment Positions: Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, Hon. James Walsh, President Judge, Law Clerk, 1978 - 1979 Lenahan & Dempsey, P.C., 1979 - 1987 Law Offices Of James E. Pocius, Esquire, 1987 - 1992 Marywood College, Scranton, Associate Professor, Legal Studies Program, 1987, 1989, 1991 City of Scranton, Assistant Solicitor, 1988 - 1989 Workers' Compensation Guide, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, Co-Editor-In-Chief, 1997 - Present |