Ms. Putman, Partner, is a bar-certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law. She oversees the work of junior attorneys, and handles a significant caseload of workers’ compensation defense files from inception to resolution. Before her promotion, Ms. Putman was a Senior Attorney for the firm, representing insurance carriers, self-insured employers and public entities in all aspects of workers’ compensation defense.
Before joining Michael Sullivan & Associates, Ms. Putman was an Associate Attorney with Morse, Giesler, Callister, Karlin & Hiura in Glendale, representing clients in workers’ compensation defense. She was particularly successful litigating “take nothing” AOE/COE and significant exposure cases, and appeared before WCABs in both Northern and Southern California. She was also responsible for bringing the firm’s new attorneys up to speed on topical workers’ comp issues, and for cultivating industry relationships that helped build the firm’s clientele.
As Associate Attorney with Hanna, Brophy, MacLean, McAleer & Jensen in Anaheim, Ms. Putman represented the defense in workers’ compensation cases, conducting depositions and devising litigation strategy. At Sager & Savage in Los Alamitos, Ms. Putman focused on workers’ compensation defense for insurance companies, reviewing medical evidence and keeping clients apprised of case status. She also conducted research and drafted documents.
As Legal Intern with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, Ms. Putman interviewed witnesses and assisted senior attorneys in trial preparation, handled preliminary hearings and reviewed law enforcement reports, laboratory results and other documents. She also honed her written and oral advocacy skills preparing and arguing responses to motions.
Ms. Putman received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, where she was on the Dean’s List and participated in Mock Trial competitions; she was a semifinalist in the San Diego Defense Lawyers competition in 2007. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she was a staff writer for the daily campus newspaper.