Abraham Lincoln said that a lawyer's time and advice are his stock and trade. Abraham Lincoln was not wrong. Time is an important factor.” So said workers' compensation claimant attorney Richard Sicking standing before the Florida Supreme Court in what may be a seminal moment for the future of the workers' compensation system.

Since the passage of the 2003 reforms, employers' rates have been cut by more than half, including a statewide average 18.4 percent decrease that took effect in January. But even as employers savored the largest rate decrease in the state's history, which translates into a collective savings of $700 million, employers/carriers have been awaiting the most serious challenge posed to the reforms. Such is the case as the $4 billion industry faces a potentially dynamic change that could turn upside down the entire scope of its business practices after the Florida Supreme Court showed strong signs that it might declare all or part of the statutory attorneys' fees provision unconstitutional.

No issue addressed in 2003 received more attention than the payment of claimant attorneys' fees, which had been calculated on a hourly basis after a 1990 court ruling that found that the state's statutory reimbursement schedule did not adequately compensate attorneys. Critics had long argued that the court's decision represented a case of judicial activism. They accused the court of ignoring the statutory intent of the law, which contained no reference to hourly fees. As a result of the hourly fees, critics said claimant attorneys had a strong incentive to prolong cases, even to the detriment of injured workers who needed benefits.