MARCH 3-16, 2021

Indiana Capitol Police say they feel a special sense of pride and honor carrying out their duties safeguarding the Indiana Statehouse and other Circle City landmarks. A recent ABA resolution is urges new programs to assist law school graduates and law students experiencing financial hardship due to student loan debt. Family law practitioners and longtime colleagues James Reed and Michael Kohlhaas made a career move that runs counter to the current trend — they went from big to boutique, and they aren’t the only big law firm lawyers who have made such a change.

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FEB. 17-MARCH 2, 2021

Legislation that would strip away protections for Indiana’s isolated wetlands has drawn opposition from conservationists as well as state environmental regulators. Efforts to remove lawyers from commissions that recommend candidates to serve as trial court judges in Lake and St. Joseph counties are meeting resistance from the local legal communities. And the Taft law firm is expanding its public service and government practice areas, opening an office in Washington, D.C., with the help of new partners who departed Ice Miller.

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FEB. 3-16, 2020

After 39 years, G. Michael Witte, executive director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, is calling it a career — sort of. A new yearlong legal-focused series, Open Conversations, hopes to draw on the power of frank discussion to illuminate issues of race and justice. And with the powerful lobbying interests of two boys from LaPorte, Indiana lawmakers are taking a stand for lemonade.

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DEC. 23, 2020-JAN. 5, 2021

As work continues toward completion of the new Indianapolis-Marion County Community Justice Campus,  the new towers rising southeast of downtown also mark a reconfiguration of how courts will handle family law and juvenile cases in the future. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is launching a first-of-its kind unit in Indiana that seeks to ensure the integrity of criminal convictions. And as coronavirus topped the news of 2020, many other major legal news stories also played out. Find out which were the most read stories of 2020 on the Indiana Lawyer website.

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Dec. 9-22, 2020

Trying what a law firm saw as an eight-figure personal injury lawsuit to a successful jury verdict during a pandemic was just one aspect of an unusual recent trial. Women general counsel at three of Indiana’s life sciences giants are helping their companies pivot to meet the new challenges of the global pandemic and positioning their legal departments to be an integral part of addressing social inequities. And the Bayh-Dole Act has contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and supported millions of jobs since it was signed into law 40 years ago. But the landmark legislation now hailed as an engine of innovation and enterprise almost never came to pass.

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NOV. 25-DEC.8, 2020

While the pandemic continues to rage and pharmaceutical makers get closer to developing an effective vaccine, Americans’ willingness to get inoculated has slipped. Battles over the vaccination will probably spill into the workplace, and employers are already starting to consider policies and plans. In light of an increase of relapses and overdose numbers, the Indiana Department of Correction this month announced it would start offering naloxone, an agent used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, to every offender released from a DOC facility. And the Indiana General Assembly is considering taking another step to recognize that heritage through legislation that would uphold the validity of tribal court judgments.    

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OCT. 28-NOV. 10, 2020

With the most partisan vote in modern history closer to a presidential election than any prior confirmation, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judge and Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett ascended to the United States Supreme Court. As Indiana voters go to the polls, they'll be deciding on judges in any number of ways. And as Indiana welcomed 337 new lawyers to the profession, experts say new lawyers and law students are increasingly seeking to make change in their legal careers.

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