IndyBar’s 50 Year Honorees

Each year the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Annual Recognition Breakfast is capped off by the celebration of those members of the association celebrating their 50th anniversary in the practice of law in 2023. Storied careers, these lawyers are featured here and in past issues of Indiana Lawyer.

Richard Clem

Dick Clem is a beloved and still active member of the Indiana family law bar. Known for his fairness, earnest advocacy and unfailing willingness to mentor subsequent generations of lawyers, Dick has practiced for decades with his firm of Alden & Clem. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation, he has left his mark of excellence in our legal community.

Lawrence Dorocke

Lawrence obtained his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Purdue University and graduated magna cum laude from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis in 1973. He has spent 50 years providing real estate, corporate, municipal, credit rights and transactional law legal services to his clients. Lawrence was a partner at the firm of Dann Pecar Newman and Kleiman for more than 40 years and he continues to provide excellent legal services to his clients in his role as of counsel at the law firm of Simpson Colin, LLC.

Lante Earnest

Lante Earnest earned his J.D. from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1973. He concentrates his practice in the areas of business law (both transactions and organizations), employment and commercial law, housing, government and administrative law, estate planning and administration, and real estate law. Earnest received the highest rating for legal ability by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Super Lawyer by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine each year since 2004. He is a fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Association and past president of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation.

Robert Hammerle

Bob Hammerle has dedicated his entire legal career to criminal law defense. Bob has established a reputation as one of the top criminal lawyers in the state. Whether defending a client in a traffic infraction, arguing for the constitutional rights of another client before the Indiana Supreme Court or providing representation of a client in accused of murder, Bob considers each client he represents as his most important client. Outside the courtroom, Bob has provided commentary on social issues on local cable show “Opinion” and has provided his invaluable critique of movies in his regular column, “Hammerle on…” in Indiana Lawyer.

William Lawrence

The Honorable William Lawrence earned his J.D. from IU McKinney. He has worked in private practice and as a public defender for Marion Superior Court and was master commissioner for the court from 1974 to 1983. He began his judicial career in 1996 as the Circuit Court judge of Marion County. He started his federal court tenure in 2002 as magistrate judge. In 2008, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to be elevated to the bench of the U.S. District court for the Southern District of Indiana, where he served until 2019.

Jerald Miller

Jerry Miller was one of the first lawyers who mentored me and gave me a lesson on how to practice law. He made me learn the hard way, as he taught as my opposing counsel in a paternity case many years ago. Over the years, Jerry taught me many things, but the most important of which was that opposing counsel is always your colleague. After a particularly brutal family law case, Jerry and I decided that no matter the outcome, we would treat ourselves to lunch after the case was concluded. Jerry and I have been good friends ever since. Jerry is active in the Masonic Lodge and the Scottish Rite. He is an avid muzzle loader gun enthusiast. Mostly, he has been an outstanding lawyer for 50 years.

M. Kent Newton

Kent has always selflessly given his time and resources to help those with the least power, both here and abroad. He traveled numerous times to South America with the Timmy Foundation, providing medical relief to impoverished villagers. He has a master’s degree in theology from Christian Theological Seminary. Before lunches at the firm, he would say the Hamotzi, the Jewish prayer for the blessing over bread. Kent is not Jewish. Has traveled to Cuba several times. He learned to make a mean mojito. He would use his pontoon boat to sponsor “pirate day” at the office for rum and fun on Lake Clearwater.

Ronald Waicukauski

Ron Waicukauski has a distinguished career in civil rights law, business litigation, legal malpractice, and civil trials and appeals. He received his bachelor’s degree with distinction fromm Northwestern University, his J.D. from Harvard University, and an LL.M. degree, with highest honors, from George Washington University. Ron has served as a captain and judge advocate for the U.S. Marine Corps, an associate at Barnes & Thornburg, an assistant professor of law at Indiana University and a prosecuting attorney in Monroe County. He has been honored as an Indiana Super Lawyer, a Best Lawyer in America, is Martindale-Hubbell AV Rated, and is a fellow at the Litigation Counsel of America.•