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A panel of attorneys and judges discussed the legal community’s role in increasing civic engagement and education Thursday during the Indiana Bar Foundation Civics Summit.
The event was held at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis.
Students were the focus throughout much of the summit, which was partly convened to help with the rollout of a new sixth-grade civics class that is scheduled to begin in the 2023-24 school year.
Other summit session topics included Indiana’s role in the national civics landscape and educators’ perspectives on civics.
For the courts, retired Indiana Supreme Court Justice Randall Shepard said the judiciary can give a students a chance to learn “firsthand and close up” how the system functions.
Along with Shepard, the panel included Southern District of Indiana Judge James Sweeney, Indiana State Bar Association President Amy Dudas and Shelley Jackson from Krieg DeVault LLP.
Caryn Glawe, chair of the Indiana Bar Foundation board, was the moderator.
In many communities, Dudas said people often look at lawyers as leaders.
“One of our roles is simply being the example of the public citizen that we’d like everyone to be,” she said.
And when the inevitable questions come about how she finds the time to play that role on top of her regular practice, Dudas said the answer is simply, “It’s kind of my job.”
Jackson, who also serves on the board of the bar foundation’s Civic Education Committee, said she has had to come to the understanding that the things she’s involved with will probably change over time but that no matter what there will always be some kind of involvement.
She compared being a lawyer to being a teacher, which Jackson said she did for seven years.
“Our first charge is to listen to the people we are involved with,” she said.
As a bonus to getting involved with the community, Sweeney said doing things like serving on a board can be a good way to serve clients and meet new clients.
Asked what advice they would give to teachers who want to get people from the legal profession involved in their classrooms, Sweeney pointed to “We the People” and the mock trial program — both put on by the bar foundation — as a way to bridge the gap for teachers and students.
Dudas said a simple question could do the trick, too.
“A lot of times it just comes down to asking,” she said. “Most lawyers will jump in and do anything if they’re just asked.”
Panelists also received questions from the audience, one of which was about the role of pro bono work in promoting civic education and engagement.
Jackson said there is often hesitation from lawyers to take a case pro bono if it’s outside of what the lawyer normally does.
Attorneys are “professional risk managers,” she said, and don’t want to do it wrong.
Jackson said ways to get around that barrier include detailed training that allows attorneys to understand what that type of representation looks li
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