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On Jan. 30, the Indianapolis Bar Foundation celebrated the installation of its 2025 president, Lee Christie. The following is the address he gave to the nearly 200 members, family, and friends in attendance.
Good morning, everybody. It is quite humbling to receive this gavel from the past Indianapolis Bar Association Presidents. All of them have been tremendous leaders of our local legal organization. Thank you all for your past and continued leadership and support.
And thank you, Kathy Lee, for your kind words. You have been a wonderful partner of mine for over 40 years. When we first started our firm, along with Lance Cline and Kevin Farrell, we were all fortunate to be law partners and best friends. It has been a joy to watch our families grow up and to have our continued friendship. It may be a good thing that you have retired because I’m afraid all the lawyers and judges listening to your comments about me would have to report you to the Disciplinary Commission for those untruthful statements in your introductory speech!
Having the support of your law partners as you’re involved in any organization is so imperative and necessary and you, Lance, and Kevin have always been so supportive of my involvement in the Indianapolis Bar Association. Now that you, Kevin, and Lance are gone, I continue to have the support of my current partners, Tina Bell, Kyle Christie (my son), and Katie Marshall. Thank you, Tina, Kyle, and Katie, for your continued support of me.
It is such an honor to have Chief Justice Rush administering the oath to both me and Briana Clark (IndyBar Foundation President). Thank you, Chief Justice Rush, for all that you do for the Judiciary in our State. I was at the State of the Judiciary Speech you delivered on Tuesday [January 28] and our Judiciary in Indiana is in great shape. Your passion and energy is inspiring to me and the entire legal community throughout the State of Indiana. It is my privilege to sit next to you on the Indiana Judicial Nominating and Qualifications Commission where I get to personally witness your leadership style and qualities. Again, thank you for all you do for us.
I need to dispel a few rumors about my Presidency. First, I need to admit I am not the youngest president of the Indianapolis Bar Association. I know that some of you heard that I was the 147th President of the Indianapolis Bar Association and a few of you assumed that that was my age. That is, also, not accurate. The President-Elect this year is Katie Jackson-Lindsay, and she recently informed me that I graduated law school the same year she was born. So I have some experience that I bring to the Presidency that I hope is valuable to our mission and our goals. Secondly, I would like Past President Mike Hebenstreit to stand up. I need to dispel the rumor that I was chosen because the Indianapolis Bar Association Nominating Committee thought that I was actually Mike Hebenstreit. I agree that there are some similarities in our physical appearances; however, we are two separate, different people and both of our wives do not appreciate us getting confused with each other. Finally, it is not true that Bench Bar will now end at eight-o-clock every night to accommodate my sleep schedule.
Some of you were here last November when John Trimble was awarded the Luminary Award. The Luminary Award is the highest award given out by the Indianapolis Bar Association. A rhetorical question, but has there ever been anyone who is more deserving of The Luminary Award than John Trimble? John made the effort to be here today and we all should give John a round of applause for all he does, not only for IndyBar, but for his contributions to bar associations all over the country. John belongs to 12-13 different state bar associations and travels all over extolling the virtues of IndyBar. Thank you, John, for all that you have done and I value our friendship. John got involved in IndyBar very early in his career. IndyBar offers that opportunity for all young lawyers who want to be leaders in our legal community. Actually, IndyBar offers benefits and opportunities to its members no matter their age or what stage they are in their career. And there are different paths that people take to become involved in IndyBar. I am an example that there is a place for everyone at IndyBar regardless of when you get involved or how you get involved.
After graduating from law school, I was intent on working, raising a family, and making money. I thought I did not have the time or energy to be involved in IndyBar; so I really didn’t get involved until I was about 50 years old or so. My good friend, Robin Babbitt, had just been elected President of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation and he asked if I would be willing to serve on its Board of Directors. No one can say no to Robin Babbitt, so I was happy to accept and I am so grateful that he gave me that opportunity. Its an example of how IndyBar offers opportunities for everyone regardless of their age or practice area, young or experienced. It is also an example that we as members of the Indianapolis Bar Association need to spread the word to our fellow lawyers about the benefits of IndyBar membership. Jimmie McMillian and I have often discussed that many times you just need to ask someone to get involved. So, if you know a lawyer in our legal community who is not a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association or isn’t involved with the Indianapolis Bar Foundation, just ask them to get involved and maybe someday they will become a leader of either organization.
As you all know, Julie Armstrong and the IndyBar Staff really lead and operate the Indianapolis Bar Association train. My goal this year is just ride the train and follow their leads on what to do and not to derail the train. IndyBar is recognized and revered around the country because of Julie and her staff and all they do for us. So thank you, Julie Armstrong, Kari Hartman, Deneen Fitzgerald, Bryssa Helton, Kamryn Reed, Sarah Hicks, Robert Adams, Becca Lienemann, Deion Ziwawo, and Emily Burke for keeping us organized and furthering the mission and goals of the Indianapolis Bar Association.
I want to give special thanks to Dave Duncan and Travis Jensen for their excellent leadership of the Association and the Foundation last year. Both organizations had very successful years due to Dave and Travis’s leadership. Further, I am very appreciative that Katie Jackson-Lindsay is President-Elect and Adam Christensen is First Vice President and will be working with me this year in IndyBar. I hope to emulate what you and the other leaders of the Bar have done for so many years. Congratulations to Bri Clark for her Presidency this year of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation. Bri, I look forward to working with you this year and in the future.
I mentioned earlier that to be involved in an organization like IndyBar, you need to have the support of your law partners and your law firm. That includes all of your office staff and everyone at the law firm. You cannot be an effective leader and maintain your practice without the work and support of an excellent office staff. I am very lucky to have my paralegal Jill DuVall who has worked with me for over twenty years and my legal assistant Lisa Oldham. I am also so thankful to have our office administrator David Batic and all the other staff and personnel at our office that keeps the practice going day-in and day-out.
I am especially fortunate to have some of my family here with me here today. My son, Ryan, was a banker for twenty years before returning to law school at age 40 and is now an in-house counsel at Carmel Solutions. My son, Craig, is a competitive gymnastics coach and is also the assistant office manager at Christie Farrell Lee & Bell PC. My daughter, Stacey, works as an intake specialist at Christie Farrell Lee & Bell PC. Finally, my son, Kyle, is an incredible trial lawyer who has worked at our firm for eleven years and is one of our partners. It is a pleasure to be able to work every day with my sons Kyle and Craig and my daughter Stacey and I am so proud of all of my children. My daughter, Liza, was not able to be here today but she is an attorney at Gordon Rees in San Francisco, which is a nationally recognized defense firm. Finally, my son Steven travels the world coaching tennis. He’s in Australia with one of his players at this very moment and I’m extremely proud of him. Most importantly, I am honored to be the husband of my wife, Liz. She’s always been so supportive and encouraging throughout my career. Without her love and support, like with all our leaders and the support of our partners, we could not do what we do. So thank you, Liz, from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate all the sacrifices you have made for me.
In closing, this will be a challenging year. We have a new administration at the Statehouse and we anticipate there will be significant legislation introduced that impacts or affects our members. Lacey Berkshire heads up our Public Advocacy Committee and she and her committee will track any and all bills that impact or affect our members so that we can respond or react to any legislation that is necessary. I look forward to a tremendous year of working with the Board and all of the Chairs to keep IndyBar what it has always been, an organization dedicated to serving our members, promoting justice, and enhancing the legal profession. We have an exciting and aggressive agenda for 2025 and I hope not to screw it up. The Indianapolis Bar Association is the heart of legal excellence. IndyBar empowers its members to never stop learning, to make a difference in the community, to lead by example, to provide a voice for the profession and to build a network of professional and personal contacts. Thank you and let’s make it an awesome 2025!•
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