New Indiana attorneys sworn in at admission ceremony

The Indiana Board of Law Examiners reported that 378 of the aspiring lawyers who sat for the July bar exam were successful in that effort. On Monday, Indiana’s newest class of lawyers was sworn in at an admission ceremony hosted by the Indiana Supreme Court.
 
Joining the five justices were 13 judges of the Indiana Court of Appeals and Tax Court; judges and staff from the U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana; state officials and representatives of Indiana law schools and bar associations. Hundreds of friends and family members filled the Sagamore Ballroom of the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis for the ceremony.

“Today you have reached a milestone and are a success,” Court of Appeals Chief Judge Nancy Vaidik told the newly minted lawyers. “But your future success depends on your character,” she continued. Vaidik talked with students about the importance of both moral and performance character in their dealings with clients and peers.

While conveying her congratulations to the new lawyers, Vaidik also congratulated Chief Justice Loretta Rush on the occasion of presiding over her first admission ceremony as Indiana’s first female chief justice.

The Indiana oath to admittees was administered by Johnson Superior Judge Lance Hamner, whose son was among the lawyers being sworn in. Justice Brent Dickson reminded the group that this is the same oath that has been taken by Indiana lawyers for 75 years, and in that tradition they are now ambassadors of the legal profession. Lawyers planning to practice in the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana also took the oaths for those federal courts.

Other judges and elected officials speaking at Monday’s ceremony included U.S. Southern District Court Chief Judge Richard Young, U.S. Northern District Court Magistrate Paul Cherry and Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller. The ISBA hosted a reception for the new lawyers following the ceremony.