MORGANTOWN – Debra Scudiere of Kay Casto & Chaney has been appointed as a member of the West Virginia Industrial Council. She was nominated by Gov. Jim Justice last month and the West Virginia Senate recently approved his nomination and her appointment.
Scudiere will serve as a voting member of the Council representing Westover, Monongalia County until June 30, 2020.
Created within the Office of the Insurance Commissioner in 2005, the Industrial Council primarily regulates the workers’ compensation insurance market through oversight and establishing market guidelines and polices. There are five members in total, all appointed by the governor with consent from the senate. Each member must have at least 10 years' of experience in their chosen field before they can be nominated.
To Scudiere, being chosen as a member meant contributing her skills to the local government and community.
“It means service," Scudiere told The West Virginia Record. “It means helping out our government which I think, again, the best government public servants are there to help the citizens, and the Industrial Council is a body in the state that serves workers and employers. So, I’m absolutely honored to help out the governor in this regard and very honored he had me contacted to serve in that capacity.”
In terms of expertise, Scudiere could be considered overqualified. A graduate of West Virginia University College of Law and practicing for nearly 35 years, Scudiere has provided mediation and litigation services in numerous cases over the course of her career. She was a partner of Furbee, Amos, Webb & Critchfield; a lecturer at WVU College of Law; and chair of the ADR Committee of the West Virginia State Bar.
Scudiere also earned a number of accolades, including being named one of the Best Lawyers in America for mediation, is Martindale-Hubbell AV rated, and esd named ‘Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers’ 2014 Morgantown Mediation. Currently, she is a member of Kay Casto & Chaney Law Firm as a civil litigation attorney.
“I was very interested in trial work," she said. "I was president of the Luger Trial Association in law school and happened to land a job with a firm in Fairmont, Furbee, Amos, Webb & Critchfield, that did a lot of defense work, civil litigation. And I did some criminal work, some guardian ad litem work, but my interests mainly lay in civil litigation. I don’t think there’s much more fun than being in a courtroom, representing your client, trying to do a good job," said Scudiere.
When it comes to her job as an attorney, Scudiere is chiefly concerned with helping her clients.
“I think that being a lawyer is being a problem solver, and I truly believe that lawyers are at our best when we are trying to help people and businesses solve their problems and move forward,” she said.
A trait that will surely prove useful as she settles into her new role.
