GRAIWER AND KAPLAN - Key Persons
Gary R. Kaplan was born on August 13, 1958, in Jersey City, New Jersey. While in law school, Mr. Kaplan was the recipient of Scholastic Achievement Awards in Evidence and Civil Pre-Trial Procedure. Mr. Kaplan was admitted to practice in the State of California and before the United States District Court in 1983. In August of 1999, Mr. Kaplan became the managing partner of Graiwer & Kaplan, LLP.
Mr. Kaplan has extensive civil litigation and trial experience involving cases dealing with personal injuries, governmental tort liability, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, product liability, construction defects, highway design, as well as numerous other types of personal injury matters. He also litigates claims involving workers' compensation, serious and willful misconduct, Labor Code Section 132(a), wrongful termination, employment discrimination, as well as wage and hour disputes. He has also prepared appellate briefs and has successfully argued before the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District of the State of California.
Mr. Kaplan has represented numerous clients during various stages of EEOC and FEHA administrative investigations, which have resulted in the resolution of numerous claims prior to the initiation of legal proceedings.
Mr. Kaplan has also defended claims on behalf of State Farm, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, CSE, the LAC-MTA and various Unified School Districts.
Mr. Kaplan has been selected to act as a arbitrator and mediator through the Los Angeles County Superior Court. His diverse background representing both plaintiffs and defendants has provided Mr. Kaplan with a unique perspective of the risks of litigation, and more importantly, the benefit of prompt and fair resolution of claims.
Mr. Evans is a Judge Pro Tem at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. He has also been an invited lecturer for many workers' compensation organizations through the years.
Mr. Evans has been practicing in the workers' compensation arena since 1989. In 1997, Mr. Evans was certified by the State Bar of California as a specialist in workers' compensation law. For the first 20 years of his career Mr. Evans was a workers' compensation defense attorney and an equity partner in the largest workers' compensation defense firm in the state of California. During his tenure as a defense attorney, Mr. Evans was frequently retained to defend catastrophic workers' compensation claims. He now takes great pride in aggressively representing injured workers who have sustained work related injuries to insure the injured worker receives all benefits to which one is entitled under the law.
Vivian A. Riddick was born in 1961 and spent her informative years in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She attended The Pennsylvania State University from 1979-1983 on a four year full athletic and academic scholarship. Her tenacity, commitment, and hard work as a student athlete contributed to her All-American athletic accomplishments and ultimate Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice. Ms. Riddick then attended Howard University School of Law in Washington DC from 1983-1986 where she earned her Doctorate of Jurisprudence. Thereafter, Ms. Riddick was admitted to practice law in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and before the United States District Court in 1987.
From November 1988 through December 2017, Ms. Riddick was an associate attorney/hearing representative in the Los Angeles Law Firm of Williams, Beck & Forbes. In January 2018, she joined the Law Firm of Graiwer & Kaplan LLP.
Ms. Riddick has extensive litigation and trial experience handling all aspects of cases, involving injured workers before the State of California Department of Industrial Relations Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.