Feighner, Christie honored at 34th annual ITLA awards

Attorneys from Fort Wayne and Indianapolis were recently recognized with the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement and Young Lawyer awards at the associations’ 34th Annual Lifetime Achievement Event.

John Feighner of Haller & Colvin was awarded ITLA’s Lifetime Achievement Award while Kyle Christie of Christie Farrell Lee & Bell was awarded the Max Goodwin Young Lawyer of the Year.

Feighner, a personal injury and wrongful death attorney, served as ITLA president from 2010 to 2011. He said his passion is walking alongside clients as they experience some of the most difficult challenges of their lives.

“When you hire a lawyer – me – I pick up your problems and put them on my shoulders and take them to trial,” Feighner said.

Christie is a second-generation injury attorney who grew up hearing about personal injury cases from his father, which led him to his own legal career. Although, that wasn’t always the plan.

“I just became more passionate about it and representing individuals and helping people out,” Christie said.

Both winners said they were grateful and humbled by their respective ITLA awards.

A high honor

Feighner graduated from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1976 and has been committed to representing families and practicing civil litigation his entire career. He’s also served as trial counsel for Allen County’s local government, as well as five sheriffs, among other roles.

Representing families struggling with the permanent trauma and loss of a loved one in wrongful death cases is the highest privilege he feels as a trial lawyer, Feighner said.

“Early on in my career I represented a family in a wrongful death case. Becoming committed to that family and proving liability and damages in a difficult case was a great honor,” he said.

One example traces down a country road in rural Indiana, where stop signs and controlled intersections were once nonexistent. Collisions happened frequently, Feighner said.

“Those were hazardous during farming season. Sometimes people died from those collisions,” he said. “I had tort claims cases against highway departments and the Indiana Department of Transportation. Those cases helped persuade governments to put those (stop) signs up.”

Winning the ITLA Lifetime Achievement Award was a pleasant surprise for Feighner.

“I was not told I was nominated for the award so when I received the award, I was thrilled,” he said.

Staying true to himself

Similarly, Christie said receiving the Max Goodwin Young Lawyer of the Year award was a surprise.

“I was absolutely thrilled. I didn’t believe it at first,” Christie said. “I’m so appreciative.”

Christie was admitted to the Indiana Bar in 2013 after receiving his law degree from the IU McKinney School of Law that same year.

One case in particular crystalized the importance of trial work for Christie, who early on in his career worked on a serious injury case. The plaintiff was an electrician and suffered catastrophic injuries after a garage door crushed him on the job, leaving the man quadriplegic.

“Seeing all of the work that went into doing justice by him, for what ended up being a great result, the work can pay off and if you do the right thing. Ultimately I think you can have a great result even on a tough case,” he said.

A key lesson Christie has learned in nearly 10 years of practice is to not compare himself to others in the legal field and to distinguish himself with his own strengths.

“You learn lessons based on how you prepare, but you have to make it work for yourself and be true to yourself,” Christie said. “You can learn from the people around you, and you have to be true to yourself.”•