OCT. 5-18, 2016
A new state bar program aims for binding arbitration of disputes over legal billing between lawyers and clients. An attorney's startup aims to expedite legal transactions. ISBA House of Delegates rejects a recommendation allowing for non-lawyer ownership of law firms.
Top StoriesBack to Top
Lawyer’s Doxly aims to digitally organize and expedite legal transactions
Doxly Inc., founded in 2016, is a legal technology company that is designing a new software system to locate all transactional documents in one shared space.
Read MoreJustices hear home explosion appeal
Nearly four years after he orchestrated an Indianapolis home explosion that killed two people, Mark Leonard is arguing that he should not have to spend the rest of his life in prison because his Sixth Amendment rights were violated.
Read MoreISBA panel says a confession is not always true
The conviction of Brendan Dassey, the Wisconsin teenager whose admission of guilt and subsequent trial for murder were part of the docuseries “Making a Murderer,” has brought fresh attention to the fact that innocent people do confess to crimes they did not commit
Read More
ABA allows externs to earn pay, academic credit
Law schools are concerned about the change potentially diluting educational experience.
Read MoreNon-citizen transgender man sues state to change name
Because of an Indiana law that prohibits non-citizens from legally changing their names, John Doe must continue to identify as Jane on all documents until he becomes a naturalized citizen.
Read MoreNecessary judicial appointments may come at other courts’ expense
The short-staffing illustrated in the largest and most thorough weighted caseload study of the state’s trial courts may be met in the future, but not likely without cuts elsewhere. Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Danville, told a legislative study committee Sept. 22 that appointment of new state-paid judicial officers should be tied to reducing numbers of officers where they are underutilized.
Read More
Indiana Tech regroups after disappointing bar results
In the aftermath of abysmal bar exam results, Indiana Tech Law School is offering free additional test preparation courses to ready its first graduates for a second try, but observers say the school may need to do more than have students study harder.
Read More
Avvo, LegalZoom execs tell ISBA legal services delivery must change
LegalZoom Chief Executive Officer John Suh told a gathering of Indiana lawyers Sept. 29 that solo and small firms whose practices in many cases have struggled for decades may be facing existential challenges, but they shouldn’t blame the internet.
Read More
ISBA House of Delegates rejects proposal for non-lawyer ownership of law firms
After a 30-minute discussion about the potential ramifications of a recommendation to allow non-lawyers to hold equity investments in law firms, the Indiana State Bar Association House of Delegates overwhelming voted against the recommendation at its meeting Sept. 30.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
ISBA program aims for binding arbitration of disputes over legal billing
Clients who think their lawyer charged them too much have a new way to contest the bill. And so do attorneys whose clients haven’t paid up as they believe they should.
Read MoreHussmann: Early intervention can provide desired effects
For those of us in the dispute resolution business, “desired effects” — justice — must remain an important component of the outcome if the system is to be perceived as fair and useful.
Read MorePrice: A look at the past, present and future of mediation
Whether experience will show one “model” prevailing or whether we have an environment where mediation is an amalgam of each type driven by the circumstances of the case, one thing is beyond dispute: Mediation is here to stay.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
Indiana Judges Association: Will paper remain at the end of the e-filing tunnel?
The benefits of “going paperless” can be exciting. A municipal court in suburban Seattle recently reported saving $500,000 annually by e-filing.
Read MoreHammerle on… ‘The Magnificent Seven,’ ‘Snowden,’ ‘The Hollars’
Bob Hammerle says “Snowden” serves as a reminder to Americans how we have largely lost our privacy.
Read MoreNeutral Corner: Indiana’s ADR Rules adopted 25 years ago
Although mediation became the main thrust of the ADR Rules, mediation as now known was not the central feature of the rules originally proposed.
Read MoreDTCI: Some lessons learned while on the DTCI board
Since I am soon leaving the DTCI board of directors and moving on to the ISBA Board of Governors, I thought that I would share a few lessons that I have learned over the years, both on the board and off, as my last director’s column.
Read MoreSpecial SBack to Top
Bar AssociationsBack to Top
IndyBar: Make Your Voice Heard on Marion County Justice System Improvements
IndyBar members are encouraged to be on hand to talk with representatives from Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s office at the IndyBar offices on Thursday, Oct. 13 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. regarding ideas for improvements to the processes used within the criminal justice system in Marion County
Read MoreMoberly: Succeeding by ‘Failing Forward’
A motivational speaker once said “it’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.” So, reach for that brass ring and you just might catch it.
Read MoreIndyBar: Indy Reads Named 2016 Impact Fund Grant Recipient
With help from the Indianapolis Bar Foundation (IBF), local non-profit Indy Reads is tackling adult literacy issues, and specifically those that face individuals in our criminal justice system.
Read More