Faculty Profile

Kristen Magana is a partner in the firm’s workers’ compensation department.  She earned her Bachelor of the Arts degree in Classical Languages from Davidson College in 2005, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2008. While in law school, she clerked for a defense firm in Orlando, Florida, where she gained her first experience in workers’ compensation. Ms. Magana’s practice since becoming licensed has primarily focused on the defense of self-insureds, particularly governmental entities, as well as large workers’ compensation carriers. She has handled a multitude of claims filed under the “Heart-Lung Bill,” in addition to a variety of other issues unique to governmental entities and self-insureds. Ms. Magana’s involvement in claims begins at their inception and investigations into compensability, through settlements or final hearings before Judges of Compensation Claims. She has also handled numerous appeals and argued several cases before the First District Court of Appeal.  Ms. Magana became Board Certified as a Specialist in the area of Workers’ Compensation Law in 2016. Ms. Magana has presented at numerous panels and written several articles for industry publications pertaining to updates in the workers’ compensation law. She prides herself on the application of this ever-evolving law to pragmatic and successful resolutions of her cases.