Q&A with 2023 ITLA President Emily Guenin-Hodson

Tell me about your educational background and your career up to this point.
I was born in Wabash, Indiana, and went to high school here at Northfield (Jr./Sr. High School), and then I went on to Butler University for undergrad. I double majored in English and philosophy. And then I went to IU Mauer School of Law in Bloomington and graduated from there in 2003. I came back to Wabash and I practiced with my dad here — it’s just the two of us as attorneys — since 2003, so this will be my 20^th year.

Well, my next question was going to be what drew you to plaintiff’s work, but maybe your dad was part of that?
Wabash is a smaller, rural community, so we actually do a lot of plaintiff’s work. But we also have just a variety practice, as well, where we’ll do some estate planning and other litigation. A lot of our clients come to know us just because we’ve grown up with them, we’ve known them for years or known their family. But the passion with plaintiff’s work really started when we saw some of our friends and loved ones being injured and they weren’t getting the assistance that they needed through that process, so we wanted to be there to help them, and then our practice has just grown from that.

How long have you been involved with ITLA?
I’ve been involved with ITLA really since the beginning of my practice. Early on, we had a case where ITLA offered amicus assistance with one of our cases and it went very well, so we got to know the organization through that. So about 20 years ago, and ever since then we saw all the things that ITLA provides not only to its members, but also in assisting people throughout the state, and a lot of it’s behind the scenes. We wanted to be involved with that — I wanted to be involved with that, my dad wanted to be involved with that — because we saw good people doing good work, and that was something we wanted to continue to foster.

So how did you get involved in leadership roles?
I’ve been very fortunate. I think it’s something that’s common, fortunately, in our organization, that it’s an organization that lifts each other up, so I had several role models and people that had talked to me early on, wanting to see me succeed. We have an ITLA Listserv that’s for the sustaining members that provides a lot of support and guidance, and especially with an office such as ours, where there’s two attorneys practicing in a rural community, it really gives us a chance to network and have allies throughout the state. So I got involved in leadership really (through) just making those connections, reaching out to others, finding out about their cases, offering my help and support, and then also being receptive to learn from them, from their experiences.

What was the process of becoming president like?
It’s about a 10-year process. You start out on the executive board and you work your way up. You’re an at-large member for a number of years, and then you work up through the chairs of the organization so that you have experience with each of the offices. When I first started, I kept thinking, “Oh, this is a long commitment. It’s a big commitment.” But it’s because I went through that that I really got to know the organization inside and out. I was able to help foster changes when we needed changes and help promote the things that are still good and maintain the things that are good about our organization. So even though it was a long process, I think it’s worth going through because now that I’m president, I have a better understanding of each of the elements that go into making our organization.

What are you planning for your year as president?
I’m excited about it. One of the things that I’ve seen develop among my peers, but also through just friends and family, is this struggle with balance — balancing life and mental health aspects. I think a lot of that developed, unfortunately, after COVID — the shutdown we experienced and then coming back out of that, the changes that are there. I also think, though, that it’s something that’s always been an issue to be addressed. So that is one of the things that I’m wanting to foster during my presidency, is focusing on the importance of having a balanced life and how that strengthens you as an individual and that we can be a better advocate for our clients when we’ve nurtured our relationships with our family and friends and taken into account our mental and physical health. So there’s going to be different ways that we work that in as a subtopic in some of our meetings, some of our CLE programming.

I’m also very fortunate that I have followed presidents who have addressed other issues and concerns that were there, and a lot of those things are now being already taken care of, such as we focused on broadening our reach throughout the state. I’m in Wabash; I’m not in Indianapolis. A lot of our members are throughout the state, so we’ve had some programming throughout the state, we’ve given our membership ways to be involved, even if they can’t be physically present in Indianapolis. We’ve also expanded our membership and developed a mentorship program. So it’s really about listening to the needs of our organization and of our members and trying to assist and foster in the best way we can.

With that mental health and work-life balance issue, do you have specific ideas of what that might look like in practice?
In a couple different ways. One is, for me personally, I have found the benefit of working in a rural community because I think it is, in some ways, easier to have that work-life balance when you practice from a rural community. I’ve been able to coach my kids in soccer, I can run to school meetings really quickly, I help out with track meets, that kind of thing. And so I think that is one way — just weighing those options as to where you want to physically locate your practice can help with that.

But even aside from that, there are ways that you can implement that regardless of where you’re physically located. Coming up in October, there’s a summit being held in Wabash about mental health (the Mental Health Summit for Rural Justice and Healthcare Professionals). I’m excited about to be part of that. It’s going to focus on rural communities and mental health in the justice and medical professions. Those are just different ways that I see incorporating that into not only my personal life, but also my term is president.

Picking up on something else you mentioned, you being in Wabash and having members statewide — for you personally as president, what’s that going to mean? Is it going to be more trips down here to Indy?
It will be, and I knew that going into it that there would be more trips down to Indy as a result of that. But I’m excited about it. I attended the bar admission ceremony (last month) and there’ll be different things that I’ll do, as well. But the nice thing is, I try to use it also as a time to connect with some of my peers and colleagues that are located in Indianapolis, so it gives me that sort of interpersonal connection, as well. So more trips, but I think they’ll be worthwhile, and I’m looking forward to them.

Any issues or challenges you foresee in the year ahead?
Not necessarily challenges, but one thing that I am aware of is our branches of government working together; that’s something that I think can be very can be beneficial, because we do have three branches of government. Obviously, the one that I’m dealing with usually the most is the court system, but I have found through my experiences that there’s a lot of overlap and there’s a lot of cooperation between those branches, and that when our when our government cooperates and provides checks and balances, we enhance society as a whole. When you look at it, all of our governmental entities are focused on a commitment to justice, regardless of the form, and one of the things that I really appreciate about ITLA is that our mission statement is, “Dedicated to the constitutional rights of open access to the courts and equal protection under the law for all persons in Indiana.” When you look at all of our branches, that really is a theme for all of our governmental branches, is to ensure equal access to the courts, regardless of financial status, and that by fostering this access, it provides a foundation of trust for and in our government and our leaders. So I’m looking forward to the dynamics of working with all of that because in my personal practice, that’s not something I’ve dealt with significantly, but I know how critical and important it is.

What level of collaboration do you have with leaders of other bar associations?
We do work on collaboration, and we’ve had some different programming that we’ve offered and done in collaboration with other bar organizations. It’s also a situation that with DTCI (Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana), members of DTCI are usually the attorneys that we work most with. Usually, it’s on the opposite side of the case, but obviously you get to know people well just through that experience. That’s one thing that I’ve appreciated in being involved in leadership with ITLA is how everybody’s interested in making the system work, whether that’s through the personal friendships that you form or official collaborative projects. It really is an interest in having the justice system work, and it’s my experience — and I think it’s the experience of most of our members — that we’re seeing that the justice system does work.

Some of the statistics on that (show that) many disputes are resolved before a complaint is even filed. And then of those filed, 90% of those cases actually are settled without ever going to trial. So when we look at it, the justice system is really paving a pathway to resolutions, because I think people in our community in Indiana, they want to resolve their disputes. Most people don’t want to go to court or go to trial; they want to find a resolution, they want to find common ground. But our justice system is not just about making a decision at the end; it’s about helping those individuals find common ground, find resolutions, whether that’s through the mediation process or whether it’s through making some early decisions on cases that provide additional insight that then lets our clients find more information in order to get to that resolution. So I think that’s one of the ways that our justice system works because of that collaboration with other organizations, whether through official channels or just through the process itself.

What has been the benefit(s) of ITLA to your personal career?
I talked a little bit about the sustaining member Listserv previously, but I really cannot undervalue that. It is an amazing resource in that it is a way for me to reach out to people throughout the state, and you get answers back on that within minutes. Somebody will say, “Oh, I’ve dealt with this, give me a call,” or, “I’ve dealt with this, here’s a case that will help you on this issue.” Sometimes it’s, “I’ve dealt with this, here’s the brief I filed.” So it is an amazing resource, and again, having a small practice, having all of those colleagues that are just an email away is really an amazing resource.

I talked a little bit about the Amicus Committee — that has also been very beneficial to my personal practice, because we’ve taken advantage of the Amicus Committee before where they’ve offered to write briefs and (offered to assistance) with our clients on things. Since then I’ve also served as amicus counsel on several cases in order to provide that assistance back, and I do think it makes my personal practice better, but it also makes for better laws in the state, because if we can provide additional information or insight, then that’s something that judges can take into consideration.

What’s your elevator pitch to a young lawyer considering joining ITLA?
I would say that the one of the benefits of joining ITLA as a young lawyer is the camaraderie that develops and the guidance that you can receive early on so that you can develop good habits and good resources and information from the start of your practice. A lot of times we get doing things because that’s just the way we’ve always done them, but if you can learn from people who’ve been down this path before, then I think that’s fantastic. I always tell people that if I’m off track on something, let me know, because I think that we need to be able to admit when we’re wrong and if we need to correct something or course-correct on an issue. And the nice thing with ITLA is, you’ve got a lot of people who’ve had similar experiences who can help you course-correct.•