Attorneys

Timothy B. Armstrong

tarmstrong @ workcompdefense.com

A graduate with Honors from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1982 and from Loyola University School of Law in 1985. Mr. Armstrong began his legal career with the law firm of Matthew, Hodges & Kelley handling civil litigation. In 1987 he became an associate with Johnson, Rifenbark & Wylie, handling both workers compensation and civil liability, as well as subrogation matters.

In 1998 Mr. Armstrong, and Jeffrey Sigel, formed their own firm to represent employers in all aspects of workers compensation and subrogation matters. Mr. Armstrong makes presentations to self‑insured employers, personnel directors, risk managers, and other attorneys concerning current changes and trends in the workers compensation field. These seminars and presentations are made both on an informal basis and in more formal settings as arranged by Lorman Education Services.

In addition he presents seminars to general contractors on behalf of the Associated General Contractors of California and Safely & Health Council. Mr. Armstrong has been certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Specialist in Worker’s Compensation Law. Mr. Armstrong has served on the committee of graders for the specialization exam given by the California State Bar in Workers Compensation Law. He has been nominated by his peers and recognized by Super Lawyer Magazine from 2006 to the present. Mr. Armstrong serves as a Judge Pro Tempore at the Pomona Workers Compensation Appeals Board.

Brigitte K. Lockner

blockner @ workcompdefense.com

Received her Bachelor’s Degrees in International Relations and European Languages from the University of Southern California in 1984, with Magna Cum Laude Honors. She received her Juris Doctorate Degree from Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles in 1988 and was admitted to the California Bar in 1989. Ms. Lockner has practiced in the area of disability discrimination law for the Western Center for the Handicapped.

Ms. Lockner was corporate counsel for a property management firm, involved primarily in landlord/tenant and contract law disputes. In 1991 Ms. Lockner became an associate with the firm of Johnson, Rifenbark & Wylie where she handled workers compensation liability and subrogation matters.

In October of 1998, Ms. Lockner joined the firm of Armstrong & Sigel. Ms. Lockner has also served as a Judge Pro Tem at the Norwalk Workers Compensation Appeals Board. She is also a member of the Workers Compensation Defense Attorneys Association, the California Women Lawyers Association, and the L.A. County Bar Association/Workers Compensation Division. Ms. Lockner has been certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Specialist in Workers Compensation Law.

Carolyn J. Beliso

cbeliso @ workcompdefense.com

Received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles in 1983. She was employed by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company for 7‑1/2 years as a supervisor and settlement specialist in the areas of workers compensation and liability.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southwestern University School of Law in 1993. While at Southwestern, Ms. Beliso was an editor of the Southwestern University Law Review and received several American Jurisprudence Awards. Ms. Beliso was the first recipient of the Wilshire Bar Association Honors Award. She clerked for Justice Sonenshire at the California State Court of Appeal where she drafted preliminary opinions. She joined Johnson, Rifenbark & Wylie in 1991 as a law clerk and then as a lawyer in 1994 handling workers compensation, civil litigation and subrogation.

She was recently acknowledged as the Attorney of the Year by Roadway Express in appreciation of the services she has rendered for that account. Ms. Beliso joined Armstrong & Sigel in 1998. Ms. Beliso has been certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Specialist in Workers Compensation Law.

Linda Babakhanian

lbabakhanian @ workcompdefense.com

Graduated Magna Cum Laude from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Ms. Babakhanian received her Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern Law School and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2010.

Ms. Babakhanian was the recipient of Judge Julian Beck Award for Outstanding Graduating Senior, while at California State University, Northridge. She was also the recipient of the CALI Award for Excellence for Internet and E-Commerce, while at Southwestern Law School. Her experience includes an externship with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and clerkships at private law firms in various areas of civil litigation, including breach of contracts, collections, and personal injuries.

Ms. Babakhanian is licensed to practice before all the courts of the State Bar of California as well as the United States District Court, Central District of California.

Elizabeth D. Cha

Ms. Cha graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology. As an undergraduate, she worked as an associate for Dr. Sydney Starkman’s UCLA Stroke Study Group. Ms. Cha received her JD from Western State University College of Law. During law school, she interned at WSU’s Family Law Clinic providing pro bono services to low-income residents of Orange County. Ms. Cha was admitted to the State Bar of California in 2010 and to the District of Columbia Bar in 2011.

Prior to joining Armstrong Law Group, APC in 2023, she worked for a legal technology company as Director of Managed Review and Operations. She advised clients on end-to-end eDiscovery workflows. She frequently consulted on best practices to enable clients to maximize technology to drive down litigation costs. Her clients included Monsanto, Netflix, Google, and AM100 law firms.

Ms. Cha is a technical expert on electronic discovery databases. She is certified as a Relativity Analytics Specialist and a Relativity Review Management Specialist. She also has several certifications as an AI software specialist. Her skill set includes building custom objects and scripts in Relativity for privilege logs and decision logs. She has been a member of the Women in eDiscovery organization since 2016.