California Workers’ Compensation Defense Legal Services
Over A Decade of Experience
AVR Law specializes in full scale legal representation of employers, insurance companies, and third-party administrators in all aspects of workers’ compensation defense litigation. The firm has extensive experience in representation of PEO and staffing companies, medical facilities, and employers that specialize in the production and sale of food, as well as the restaurant service industry.
AVR Law has experience with defending against post-termination continuous trauma claims, severe specific injuries and high-exposure claims, death claims, COVID claims, stroke and psych claims, as well as high-valued structured settlements.
Our Services
Legal representation for all aspects of litigation required for workers’ compensation defense from the initial file referral and deposition of an applicant through Trial and post-Trial appeals.
Workers’ Compensation Defense
Defense and representation of employers against 132a Petition filings.
132a Petitions
AVR Law provides representation at all Southern California WCABs, as well as Northern California WCABs upon request.
Expertise in California Law
THE TEAM
Amanda V. Rodriguez, ESQ.
FOUNDING PARTNER
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Amanda V. Rodriguez is the proud founding partner of AVR Law, Professional Corporation. She is a California Bar Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation with over a decade of experience.
Within the first three months of practicing, she successfully defended against a post-termination claim, achieving her first Take-Nothing. This early victory fueled her enthusiasm for the law and desire to aggressively defend her clients.
Amanda prides herself on providing efficient and effective litigation with a focus on early resolution and cost-mitigating strategies. Her clients benefit from early closures (often within 60-90 days of a file referral) and creative settlement recommendations. Should a claim require extended litigation, Amanda aggressively presents defenses and utilizes detailed Trial strategies to best serve her client’s interests, while still limiting exposure and costs.
Amanda is fluent in Spanish, enjoys discovering new restaurants, and loves to travel to Spain with her husband and two sons.
Education
· J.D, Loyola Law School
· B.A, University of Washington
Bar Admission
· California, 2012
· Certified Legal Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law
Board Membership
· Director, Board Member LA RIMS
Evelyn Medina, ESQ.
SENIOR ASSOCIATE
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Evelyn Medina started practicing Workers’ Compensation law in December 2016, and is now a California Bar Certified Specialist. Prior to completing law school, Evelyn worked as a legal assistant in the field. She takes pride in her continued pursuit to learn new cutting-edge strategies and innovative litigation tactics.
She is well-rounded in this field having previously represented injured workers. In 2023, after gaining insight and experience while working at a premier firm for injured workers, she returned to her defensive roots with a hyper focus on effective razor-sharp litigation handling.
She handles all aspects of litigation, often navigating multiple issues during the onset of litigation and foreclosing her opponent’s ability to increase potential exposure. She has a heavy presence at the WCAB appearing at multiple venues in Southern California. She has held key roles in novelty litigation strategies, bringing a unique perspective to bear major victories for her clients. In the last year, she has secured dismissals for multiple cases at the discovery stages, mitigating litigation costs for her clients.
She has advised a diverse array of clients and successfully represented insured, self-insured employers, and their carriers, PEOs, staffing companies and municipalities. She demonstrates high quality, aggressive defense of her cases with impressive attention to detail, and thorough legal analysis and research. Her file handling philosophy includes implementing proactive case management strategies to achieve expeditious resolutions. Her motto is to operate with the highest level of integrity, precision, and unwavering advocacy; preferring to handle the litigation of her cases from inception through resolution.
Education
· J.D, Thomas Jefferson Law School
· B.A, University of California, Irvine
Bar Admission
· California, 2016
· Certified Legal Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law
Brandon Castillo
OFFICE MANAGER
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Brandon Castillo brings over 12 years of experience in the Workers’ Compensation field to AVR Law. He began as a file clerk working his way to Legal Assistant and Assistant Office Manager all due to his dedicated work ethic, attention to detail and management skills. He has been an integral part of two start-up law firms, including AVR Law.
Brandon and Amanda have worked together since 2018 now forming what some may call The Dream Team!
Outside of work, Brandon enjoys going to the movies and trying new restaurants.
