Back to Claims School
Lindsey E. Mills has spent more than 15 years representing employers in workers’ compensation, employment matters, and civil litigation across Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri. She is an attorney and shareholder with Smith Mills Law PC and has built her practice around technical knowledge, practical judgment, and the relationships that make the workers’ compensation community work. Her professional involvement has included service with the Workers’ Compensation Section of The Iowa State Bar Association, the Blackstone Inn of Court, and the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. She also regularly teaches through industry conferences, continuing legal education programs, client seminars, and professional publications.
Lindsey credits people with drawing her into workers’ compensation in the first place. Strong mentors showed her how thoughtful legal representation could support employers and insurance carriers while building a career inside a highly connected professional community. That same appreciation for learning from others continues to shape the way she approaches the work today. Workers’ compensation laws may change from state to state and rules continue to evolve, which makes both institutional knowledge and continued education essential.
At the CLM Claims College School of Workers’ Compensation, Lindsey brings students the perspective of an attorney who understands the value of slowing down long enough to gather the right information, ask the right questions, and learn from the people who have already navigated similar issues. She also brings an energy that makes learning feel considerably less intimidating.
What originally drew you to workers’ compensation?
The people!
I was lucky to have some amazing mentors who practiced in workers’ compensation. Learning from the best and seeing how they effectively represented employers and insurance carriers made workers’ compensation an easy choice for me and my practice.
The people around me helped shape the career I wanted to build.
What perspective do you bring to the School of Workers’ Compensation?
General workers’ compensation principles may overlap across jurisdictions, but state laws have important nuances and the rules continue to change.
Claims professionals need to understand the principles while also recognizing where jurisdiction-specific differences can change the analysis.
That requires constant education and learning.
Why is that expertise important for today’s claims professionals?
Institutional knowledge matters.
So does staying current with changes across the industry.
Combining the experience professionals have already developed with a willingness to continue learning makes all of us better at what we do.
What is one challenge you regularly observe within workers’ compensation?
Making decisions too quickly.
Workers’ compensation professionals routinely work under pressure and carry significant responsibility for moving claims forward. Speed has value when the information supports action.
Good judgment also requires knowing when to ask another question, gather another piece of information, or give yourself enough time to understand what is actually happening before making the decision.
What has professional experience taught you that a textbook never could?
How to work with people and build relationships.
You can learn statutes, rules, cases, and procedures from a textbook. Professional experience teaches you how to communicate, collaborate, navigate difficult conversations, and establish credibility over time.
Those skills become incredibly important in a field where you will continue working with many of the same people throughout your career.
What advice would you give someone building a career in workers’ compensation?
Get to know your colleagues.
Ask questions.
Watch and learn from the people who came before you.
Some of the most valuable education you will receive throughout your career will come from paying attention to experienced professionals who are willing to share what they know.
What might Claims College students enjoy knowing about you?
I love karaoke.
And 90s country always slaps!
Give me the right song and apparently continuing legal education may turn into an entirely different kind of program.
Ready to Head Back to Claims School?
The strongest claims professionals never stop learning. Join the workers’ compensation community in Baltimore from September 9–11, 2026, for the CLM Claims College and three days of practical education, meaningful discussion, and professional connection. The School of Workers’ Compensation gives students the opportunity to strengthen technical knowledge, sharpen professional judgment, and learn directly from experienced industry leaders. Each class is designed to help professionals return to their organizations with greater confidence and new ideas they can apply to their work. Explore the School of Workers’ Compensation and reserve your seat at Claims College today.
The CLM Claims College School of Workers’ Compensation is powered by Paradigm. WorkersCompensation.com proudly sponsors the School’s study halls.
