Meet the 2017 DTCI board of directors

At the November annual meeting of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana, the following officers and directors were elected. They assumed office on Jan. 1, 2017.

Officers

Michele S. Bryant

Michele Bryant, the new DTCI president, is a graduate of DePauw University and Indiana University Maurer School of Law. She is a partner with Wooden McLaughlin LLP in its Evansville office. Ms. Bryant’s practice is focused on the defense and trial of medical negligence claims, representing both individual health care providers and hospitals. Her practice also includes health care and hospital law, employment litigation, and commercial litigation.

Ms. Bryant served for many years on the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Committee, which is a committee of the Indiana Supreme Court providing assistance to judges, lawyers and law students suffering from impairments affecting their ability to practice law. She continues to chair the Evansville Bar Association’s Lawyers Assistance Committee. Ms. Bryant is also a member of DRI and the American Health Lawyers Association. She has been included on the Indiana Super Lawyers list since 2011 in the area of medical malpractice defense and has achieved an AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell. In 2010, she received the Indiana State Bar Association Women in the Law Committee Recognition Award.

Ms. Bryant is an active member of her church, Aldersgate United Methodist, where she serves on the board of trustees. She is also a board member for Meals on Wheels and for the Kiwanis Club of North Side Evansville Foundation, serving as president for many years. She and her husband, John, live in Newburgh with their two teenage children.

Robert B. Thornburg

Rob Thornburg, the newly named president-elect, is a member of Frost Brown Todd LLC who concentrates his practice in the areas of products liability, commercial and business litigation, breach of warranty, and tort litigation. He routinely represents manufacturers against products liability and breach of warranty claims in suits throughout Indiana and the Midwest. He has experience in Indiana’s state and federal courts and has defended clients in states throughout the Midwest, Mid-south, South and Southwest.

Mr. Thornburg is a member of DRI and the Indianapolis Bar Association. He received his B.S. degree, cum laude, from Ball State University and his J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Renee Mortimer

Renee Mortimer, the 2017 vice-president of the association and Indiana representative to DRI, is the partner-in-charge of the Indiana office of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. She is a leader of the firm’s personal injury and property damage practice group and is a member of the firm’s executive committee.

In October 2012, Ms. Mortimer received the Indiana State Bar Association’s Defense Lawyer Civility Award. Ms. Mortimer was selected for the honor by the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, which recognizes one Indiana defense attorney each year for outstanding civility and professionalism in dealings with fellow judges, attorneys, parties, witnesses and the public.

In 2011, Ms. Mortimer was one of only 11 women to receive the Influential Women of Northwest Indiana Award. She was honored for her influence in the legal industry category. In 2015, she was selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” in the areas of mass tort litigation/class actions – defendants; medical malpractice law – defendants; and product liability litigation.

Ms. Mortimer is a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, a member of the Council on Litigation Management, DRI, and International Association of Defense Trial Counsel.

Donald S. Smith

Don Smith, the new secretary of DTCI, is a partner in the Indianapolis law firm of Riley Bennett & Egloff LLP. He limits his practice to representing employers in employment matters. Mr. Smith graduated with honors from DePauw University in 1978 and Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1981. Since then, he has defended employers before state and federal courts, the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Indiana Civil Rights Commission, U.S. Department of Labor, Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board, various arbitrators, and at the collective bargaining table, in addition to advising them concerning day-to-day employment issues.

Mr. Smith was the chairman of the DTCI Worker’s Compensation Section in 2012.

Kori L. Chambers

Kori Chambers is the association’s new treasurer. She is associate general counsel (litigation) with Indiana University Health Inc. She received her B.A. in international studies from Miami University in 1998 and received her J.D. in 2001 from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. She manages medical professional and general liability claims for IU Health Risk Retention Group Inc., which insures IU Health facilities and health care providers, as well as other practitioners throughout Indiana.

In addition to her service to DTCI, Ms. Chambers is a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association and is a past chair of the Young Lawyers Division. In 2008, Ms. Chambers was named Young Lawyer of the Year by the Indianapolis Bar Association. In 2009, DTCI named her Young Lawyer of the Year for her leadership qualities in service to the Indiana defense bar, the national defense bar and the community. Ms. Chambers has been appointed by Govs. Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence to the board of the Indiana Commission for Women.

James W. Hehner

Jim Hehner, the immediate past-president of DTCI, is a member of the Indianapolis law firm of Hehner & Associates LLC. He graduated from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business (B.S. 1980, with distinction) and Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (J.D. 1983). Mr. Hehner frequently serves as a civil mediator and is admitted to practice in Indiana, the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. For many years, he was chair of the Trial Tactics Section of DTCI. He is also a member of DRI, has achieved an AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell, and is included on the list of Indiana Super Lawyers.

Mr. Hehner is active in numerous civic organizations and currently serves on the board of trustees of the Carmel Clay Public Library. He has authored several articles on insurance defense issues and frequently speaks on insurance defense and trial advocacy issues. He and his wife, Darcy, live in Indianapolis with their three children.

Directors

Marian Drenth

Marian Drenth is a partner with O’Neill McFadden & Willett LLP in Schererville. She concentrates her practice in civil litigation with an emphasis in professional liability, including health care law, medical malpractice defense and legal malpractice defense. In addition to representing physicians, hospitals and other health care providers in medical negligence claims, Ms. Drenth’s practice areas include general liability, employment law, professional liability and insurance defense. She has successfully defended clients in numerous jury trials in matters involving general negligence and medical malpractice claims.

Ms. Drenth received her B.A. from Loyola University, cum laude, in 1992 and her J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1995. She has served as vice-chair of the Health Law Section of DTCI. She is currently a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, the Porter County Inns of Court, and she is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Ms. Drenth previously served as a board member for the Porter County Inns of Court from 2006 to 2010, serving as president from June 2009 to June 2010. She holds an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Greg J. Freyberger

Greg Freyberger is a native of Jasper, Indiana, and is a litigation partner with Wooden McLaughlin LLP in Evansville. He is a veteran trial attorney whose practice concentrates on business disputes, employment law, commercial litigation, insurance litigation, personal injury defense, and municipal law.

Mr. Freyberger has served as chairman and co-chair of DTCI’s Trial Tactics Section in 2009 and 2010 respectively, was named a Rising Star for Indiana Super Lawyers in 2010 and from 2012 to 2016, and maintains a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating. He was also named one of Evansville’s 20 rising leaders under 40 years old in 2011. He is active in the community, and has served as the president of Leadership Evansville and is the president of Brooks American Inns of Court in Evansville. He is a member of the Evansville and Indiana State bar associations, as well as DRI.

J. Curtis Greene

Curt Greene is a partner in the litigation department of Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Indianapolis office. Mr. Greene represents private and publicly traded companies regionally and nationally in a variety of civil litigation matters, including defending numerous market leaders and serving on multiple regional and national litigation teams. His practice focuses on business and commercial disputes, construction, and products liability defense. In addition to his litigation experience, Mr. Greene has nearly 10 years’ experience in both the public and private sectors serving in various operational and executive business management roles. This experience serves as a foundation for his legal practice.

Mr. Greene served on DTCI’s Long-Range Planning Committee for 2014, serves on DTCI’s Business Litigation Section Executive Committee, where he has been chair for four years, and serves on the Indianapolis Bar Foundation’s board of directors. He is a graduate of Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

Philip E. Kalamaros

Phil Kalamaros is a partner with Hunt Suedhoff Kalamaros LLP. He works mostly out of his car, as he is licensed in Indiana and Michigan, and divides his practice between the two states at the local, federal, and appellate levels. He has a broad litigation practice, including all types of professional malpractice, D&O, E&O, EPL coverage, premises, products, trucking, dram shop, general tort defense, workers’ compensation, and business planning. He is a two-time graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Kalamaros is a former Amicus Committee chairman and director of DTCI, past director of ICLEF, and a Life Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation. He also serves on the Amicus Committee and is an editor of the Indiana Civil Litigation Review. In addition to DTCI, he is a member of DRI, Claims & Litigation Management Alliance, Michigan Defense Trial Counsel, National Council of Self-Insurers, Notre Dame Law Association, and the 7th Circuit, St. Joseph County, Berrien County, Indiana State, and Michigan State bar associations.

He has been included among the Indiana Super Lawyers, Michigan Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America, and is Martindale-Hubbell rated AV.

Most important, he is the husband of Lynn, and father of Hunter, Anna and Rachel.

Matthew R. King

Matt King is a member in Frost Brown Todd’s Indianapolis office, where he concentrates his practice in product liability litigation. He has defended manufacturers of automobiles, seat belts, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, personal watercraft, medical devices and other products in state and federal courts across the country. He also has extensive experience in premises liability, insurance defense and general tort litigation.

He has been an active member of DTCI since his admission to the bar in 2003. Mr. King is a past chair of DTCI’s Product Liability Section and Young Lawyers Committee, a past recipient of DTCI’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, and he has presented at multiple DTCI seminars.

Christopher D. Lee

Chris Lee is a partner in the Evansville office of Wooden McLaughlin. Mr. Lee is a trial attorney and has been recognized by his peers for his representation in insurance defense and commercial litigation matters. He manages complex litigation cases and is a frequent speaker on trial practice and trial advocacy. He is also an active member in DRI.

Beverly J. Mack

Beverly Mack is a partner in the LaPorte firm of Huelat Mack & Kreppein P.C., where she has practiced insurance defense litigation for 20 years, focusing on product liability, trucking cases, construction defect cases, industrial accidents/occurrences, premises liability and commercial disputes.

She obtained her B.A. from Eastern Illinois University and her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1989. She is a member of the Indiana State, Illinois State, and LaPorte County bar associations, DRI, and serves as treasurer for the Women Lawyers Association of Indiana.

Anna Mallon

Anna Mallon is a partner in the Indianapolis firm of Cantrell Strenski & Mehringer, where she concentrates her practice in the areas of insurance bad faith, insurance coverage and third-party defense of insureds. She received her B.A. in political science and B.S. in secondary education from Miami University in 1997. She received her J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2002. Before attending law school, she taught high school government.

Ms. Mallon is the former chair of DTCI’s Insurance Coverage Section and has presented at DTCI seminars.

Jason M. Massaro

Jason M. Massaro is the owner of The Massaro Legal Group LLC in Indianapolis, where he focuses his practice primarily in complex business, commercial, contract and real estate litigation. His experience ranges from counseling individuals as well as emerging, small, local, and mid-sized businesses in a variety of matters including litigation, contract issues, real estate matters, and closely held and minority shareholder disputes, limited liability company and partnership disputes, negotiations, corporate and partnership structuring, and corporate compliance.

Mr. Massaro has been in practice for over 20 years and is consistently recognized for both his legal ability and ethics. He has earned an AV Distinguished Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, is a Super Lawyer Top Rated Business Litigation Lawyer, is a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America, and is also listed as one of Indiana’s Top Rated Lawyers. He is the immediate past chair of the Business Litigation Section of DTCI, the immediate past chair of the Litigation Section of the Indiana State Bar Association, and a master in the Indianapolis American Inn of Court.

Mr. Massaro received his B.S., with distinction, in economics from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Valparaiso University School of Law.

Libby Valos Moss

Libby Valos Moss is a partner with Kightlinger & Gray LLP. She is a trial attorney who concentrates her practice in the areas of employment law and defense of employers before the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board. She is a frequent speaker on the issues employers face when confronted with workers’ compensation claims. She is admitted to practice in Indiana and before the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana.

Ms. Moss has served as the chair of the DTCI Worker’s Compensation Section and is currently the chair of the Worker’s Compensation Committee of DRI. In addition to being an active member of DTCI and DRI, she is a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association, Indiana State Bar Association, and Litigation Counsel of America. Ms. Moss was recognized as a Rising Star by the Indiana Super Lawyers for 2010, 2011, and 2012. She has more recently been named to the Super Lawyers List for 2014 and 2015.

Elliott I. Pinkie

Elliott Pinkie is a partner of Cline Law Group LLC in Indianapolis. He specializes in civil litigation for the defense with a concentration in medical malpractice, licensing litigation, peer review, health care litigation, and products and premises liability defense. After graduating from Munster High School in 1991, he earned a B.S. in criminal justice and criminology from Ball State University (1995), and a J.D. from Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law (2000).

Mr. Pinkie is a frequent speaker on topics germane to the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, health care provider liability issues in Indiana, and medical professional licensing issues. He is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Indiana. He is a member of DRI and previously served DTCI as chair of the Trial Tactics Section. He is also a member of the Indianapolis Bar Association and Indiana State Bar Association. In addition, he is an active member in the Indiana Society for Healthcare Risk Management and serves on its board of directors. Elliott was also selected for inclusion in the listing of Indiana Rising Stars for the years 2009, 2012 and 2013, and was selected as an Indiana Super Lawyer in 2016. He has been an active supporter of the Social Health Association of Indiana Inc., a United Way agency, where he previously served as president on the executive committee and remains on its board of directors.  

James Strenski

Jim Strenski is a partner at the Indianapolis firm of Cantrell Strenski & Mehringer LLP. He concentrates his practice in the areas of insurance bad faith, insurance coverage and third-party defense of insureds. He received his B.S., cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1990 and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 1994.

Mr. Strenski is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, Indianapolis Bar Association, DRI, and served as the 2013 chair of DTCI’s Insurance Section. He has been repeatedly recognized as a Super Lawyer in the area of insurance coverage.

Mr. Strenski serves on the board of the Broad Ripple Little League and the board of the Hoosier Burn Camp. He is a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana.

Stacy F. Thompson

Stacy Thompson, a partner at Clendening Johnson & Bohrer P.C., graduated with high distinction from Indiana University in 1999 with a B.A. in public health. In 2002, she graduated from Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Stacy concentrates her practice in the representation of health care professionals, including individual physicians and nurses, hospitals, physicians’ practice groups, and health care-related organizations, in a variety of health care law matters. She also has experience in criminal law, employment law, general litigation and insurance defense.

In 2010, DTCI named Ms. Thompson the Young Lawyer of the Year for her leadership qualities in service to the Indiana defense bar, the national defense bar and the community. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, she was named a Rising Star by the Indiana Super Lawyers publication list. Ms. Thompson also served DTCI in the past as the chair of the Health Law Section. She is a member of DRI and the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys.

Kevin C. Tyra

Kevin Tyra is the principal in The Tyra Law Firm P.C. in Indianapolis. The primary focus of the firm’s practice is insurance defense and insurance coverage litigation.

Mr. Tyra graduated from Purdue University in 1978 and Vanderbilt Law School in 1981. After serving in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps from 1981 to 1987, he has practiced civil litigation in Indianapolis. His experience includes four years as in-house counsel for a medical malpractice insurance carrier in Indianapolis. He has extensive experience at both the trial and appellate levels in general liability insurance defense, product liability defense, workers’ compensation defense, medical malpractice defense, insurance coverage, and insurance fraud investigation.

Mr. Tyra is a member of DRI and the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators, where he has served on the Indiana board of directors since 2010. He was chair of the DTCI Insurance Section 2008-2009. He is a registered civil and family mediator and is also the founder and director of the Frederick Ozanam Free Legal Clinic, a permanent project of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Louis Voelker

Lou Voelker, now of LaPorte, Indiana, was born in Gary and grew up in Columbus. He attended Purdue University, graduating in 1991. He attended law school at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1995. He started as an associate with Eichhorn & Eichhorn LLP in 1995, and today is a general partner with the firm, working in the firm’s Hammond and Mishawaka offices. Mr. Voelker was selected Defense Lawyer of the Year for 2012 and is a member of the Indiana chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. His practice is focused on civil litigation generally and professional liability defense primarily, including medical malpractice defense. He has successfully represented clients at the trial and appellate levels. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in the area of medical malpractice defense from 2013 through 2017. He has been active in his community in his church and as a 4-H leader.•