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A new representative of District 3 has been elected to the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission.
Attorney Daniel Vinovich has been elected to replace Holly Wojcik on the JNC. Wojcik’s term expires Dec. 31.
Vinovich is a partner with Hilbrich Law Firm in Highland, where he focuses on personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death. He has previously served on the JNC and the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications Commissions, and he currently serves on the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.
Vinovich was elected to a three-year term on the JNC following an online ballot among attorneys in the Third District, which roughly occupies the northern third of the state. Fort Wayne attorney Audrey M. Van Gilder and LaPorte attorney Louis W. Voelker also appeared on the ballot.
Vinovich is a past president of the Indiana State Bar Association and a past chairman of the ISBA House of Delegates. He has been a member of the ISBA House since 1995, is a former House parliamentarian and currently holds a permanent seat in the House.
He served four terms on the ISBA Board of Governors and three times as member of the Executive Committee. He has been chairman of various ISBA committees, including the board and House nominating committees, Budget and Finance Committee, Member and Membership Benefits Committee, Succession Planning Committee and the Leadership Development Academy.
Vinovich is also a member of the American Bar Association and served six years as a representative to the ABA House of Delegates.
He is an Indiana Bar Foundation patron fellow and served on the board of directors. He is also on the board of directors of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association.
Locally, Vinovich is a past president and former member of the board of directors of the Lake County Bar Association. He was chairman of the LCBA’s Continuing Legal Education Committee, Program and Social Committee and Young Lawyers Section, and was a member of the LCBA’s Personnel Committee, Scholarship Committee and several ad hoc committees.
In a personal statement released as part of his election bid, Vinovich said, “As Indiana State Bar Association President, I testified before the General Assembly in support of modernizing our judicial system, discussed importance of various factors in judicial selections with the Governor’s office and worked with the Chief Justice on several improvements. I helped create a Bench/Bar conference, defended judges when unfairly criticized and supported an increase in judicial salaries. I served on the Leadership Development Academy faculty and moderated a community forum to increase public awareness of the legal system. While President of the Lake County Bar Association, I worked with the bench/bar to coordinate a solution for our judiciary’s case allocation system. The addition of three new civil courts and merit selection were priorities. On the ABA’s House of Delegates, we adopted resolutions to better the administration of justice. I moved for a resolution dealing with Supreme Court recusal issues and advocated for the right to trial by jury. It is my privilege to serve these bar associations whose core values include improving the administration of justice. The experience I attained as well as 33 years of litigating cases for a small firm — and my prior service on this commission — provide me with the requisite qualifications for this position.”
Vinovich is a 1987 graduate of Purdue University and a 1990 graduate of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
The current members of the JNC include attorneys Wojcik, Anthony W. Patterson and Lee C. Christie, as well as nonattorneys Molly Kitchell, Danny Lopez and Brian Bauer. The commission is chaired by Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush.
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