Attorney McKinnley Morgan has had the unique opportunity of serving as chairman of the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law Workers Compensation Institute for a number of years including the 23rd annual Workers Compensation Institute conference held in May.
A founding partner of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, McKinnley has focused his legal practice primarily on workers’ compensation cases and helping injured workers for 30 years. He has shared his knowledge of Kentucky’s workers’ compensation system as a speaker at numerous legal seminars and conferences focused on issues related to workplace injuries and accidents.
This year, McKinnley chaired the planning committee that organized the two-day program of continuing legal education seminars for attorneys who handle workers’ compensation cases. The program was held at the Campbell House in Lexington.
The Workers’ Compensation Institute is designed as a service for all workers’ compensation attorneys in Kentucky, regardless of their level of experience. The program offers a survey of current issues, court decisions, rule changes, ethics opinions, and other legal topics that are encountered by attorneys on a regular basis.
The annual conference is accredited by the Kentucky Bar Association and provides 12 hours of continuing legal education credits for attorneys to satisfy the requirement for ongoing education.
By volunteering his time with the University of Kentucky Workers Compensation Institute and sharing his knowledge of this area of law, he has contributed to the professional development of members of the Kentucky Bar Association.
McKinnley gave the welcoming address at the opening of the 2021 conference which offered participants the option of attending in person or watching live-streamed video online.
“We worked on developing good programs that were not only updates of the law, but also focused on making those who attended better practitioners,” McKinnley says. “We brought in doctors to discuss surgeries being performed to address workplace injuries that we see on a frequent basis.”
The program is designed to address issues of interest to both worker’s compensation plaintiffs’ attorneys and defense attorneys. The seminars at the 2021 conference covered topics such as occupational exposure cases, review of worker’s compensation case law decisions, Kentucky workers’ compensation regulatory updates, legal ethics in workers’ compensation practice, mental-physical claims, and an evidence refresher for workers’ compensation practitioners.
“You are seeing a lot of diversity in what is being presented,” McKinnley said.
The Workers Compensation Institute coincided with the Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Hall of Fame Awards Dinner. The Hall of Fame recognizes not only attorneys but doctors, court reporters, and administrative law judges who have worked in the area of workers’ compensation law in Kentucky for a number of years.
After a number of years chairing the Institute, McKinnley is handing over the duties of chairing the annual conference to Gerald Vanover, Jr., of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer.
Gerald is also a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law and has presented numerous seminars at Kentucky Workers’ Compensation conferences. He and a workers’ compensation defense attorney will co-chair the 2022 Workers Compensation Institute which is scheduled for April 14-15, 2022.
For more information about Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer attorneys, Contact us today at (877) 959-5309.
