Bar Crawl – Sept. 11, 2013

Bar Crawl highlights bar association news around the state. Indiana Lawyer strives to include bar association news and trends in its regular stories, and we would like to include more news from specialty and county bars. If you’d like to submit an update about your bar association or a photo from an event your bar association has hosted, or if you have questions about having your bar association news included in the newspaper, please send it to Marilyn Odendahl at [email protected], along with contact information for any follow-up questions at least two weeks prior to the issue date.

Northwest Indiana attorneyshelp young cancer patient

Lake County-area bar associations and attorneys from across northwest Indiana joined together during the Labor Day weekend to help make a 5-year-old cancer patient’s recovery a little easier.

The Lake County Bar Association, James C. Kimbrough Bar Association, Hispanic Bar Association and Women Lawyers Association embarked on this “Labor of Love” with the Northwest Indiana Cancer Kids Foundation to remove old carpeting, paint and trim the rooms of the St. John home where the young patient will recover from chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. The group also did general yard work, mowing and weeding.

‘Minor miracle’ enables IBF to share new office with ILAS

The Indiana Bar Foundation will soon be moving into new office space and gaining a new office mate.

The foundation plans to move into the William E. English Building on North Alabama Street in Indianapolis Sept. 19 – 20 and share space with Indianapolis Legal Aid Society. The two nonprofits will be occupying the entire first floor of the building’s north wing.

“We’re thrilled to be able to make this our new home,” said Chuck Dunlap, executive director of the foundation.

ILAS is now housed in the English Building but has outgrown its current space. The number of people coming for free legal assistance often overflows from the waiting room into the hallway.

Dunlap called the opportunity to share space a “minor miracle” because so many things had to align. At the same time that IBF was selling its building and current home on Ohio Street and looking for a new place, ILAS realized it would have extra space in the new location.

The English Building’s north wing has been gutted and completely renovated to suit the specific needs of the two legal organizations. The air handling system and sprinklers were replaced, the IT wiring was upgraded and LED lights were installed to complement the natural light coming in from the many windows.

To fund the refurbishment, ILAS received more than $400,000 in grants from the United Way of Central Indiana’s Capital Fund and the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

In March, the IBF finalized the sale of its building to ICLEF. About a year ago the foundation decided to sell the property because, as Dunlap explained, being a landlord fell outside of the organization’s mission.

In the English Building, the IBF will get to see the type of pro bono work it funds, said John Floreancig, ILAS executive director.

“It just makes sense for them to be here,” Floreancig said.

The two nonprofits are planning an open house from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Oct. 24.•