Mary Willis is known in the Indiana judiciary for going beyond the day-to-day duties of a trial court judge — a mover and shaker who seemed a natural choice for the newly created position of chief administrative officer for the Indiana Supreme Court. The Floyd County prosecutor faces an ethics sanction over his canceled book deal about the Camm case. Some attorneys have decided to depart the partner track for careers with less demands.
The paperless office has been an aspirational goal for many businesses including law firms for years. Advocates point to studies that say going paperless can increase efficiency by 25 to 50 percent and slash a law firm’s budget for paper, printers, printer cartridges and other traditional paperbound office supplies. A $25 million loss of consortium verdict poses tough questions for the Indiana Court of Appeals, which recently heard arguments on the matter. Wearable fitness trackers are adding to the flood of digital evidence in courts.
A small cohort of the Indiana legal community whose excellence in athletics got them to the cusp of the Olympics look back at their training and trials. Ties to a Florida firm burn several Indiana lawyers, including one facing discipline who says he is fighting for his livelihood. Indiana commercial courts are open for business, but only a handful of cases have been filed so far.
Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor Charles Geyh recently was awarded a prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program grant, which will enable him to write a book about judicial selection. Geyh is believed to be the first IU Maurer professor to receive the grant. A lawyer facing a disciplinary action has invoked the Americans with Disabilities Act in his defense. A Chinese national seeking aslyum in Indiana has won a reprieve in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ready or not, the era of e-filing begins July 1 for everyone submitting court documents in Hamilton County and in Indiana’s appellate courts. There’s evidence that despite the buildup over recent months, many lawyers and filers may be caught off guard. Also happening July 1, many new Indiana laws take effect. Read the list of new laws here. Prosecutors say that ethical rules will prohibit them from releasing video from police body cameras in ongoing criminal investigations.
Lawyers who practice before Indiana’s Tax Court see big problems as the median time for cases to be decided increased from about one year to almost 2.6 years since 2011. The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether records of civil forfeiture can be expunged. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is considering a proposed rule change that would mandate attorneys provide pro bono representation.
The 20 graduates who walked across the commencement stage May 14 and received their J.D. degrees were part of a historic day for Indiana Tech Law School as they were the first to graduate from the state’s fifth law school. But faculty and graduates acknowledged that the graduation, while a significant milestone, is not the end of their work. Darryl Pinkin's freedom has been a long, emotional battle for one IU professor and former and current students. With Prince's intestate death, estate lawyers see the need to educate people on creating a will.
As the Indy 500 prepares to celebrates its 100th running, the law firm that's been a partner for most of those races is also marking a milestone. Newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Slaughter brings a remarkable background but confesses he's facing some learning curves. The statewide crisis in CHINS cases continues to strain judicial resources in juvenile courts with no end in sight to children in need.
Local providers are concerned about billing practices of some national companies in which the companies give the lawyers who hire them a discount and making up for the loss by charging the opposing lawyer a much higher rate. An Indianapolis attorney turned his midlife "crisis" into a "dream" by recording a studio album with a little help from his friends. In Justice Brent Dickson's last oral argument, the Indiana Supreme Court weighs to the duty of care for house party hosts.
The ACLU of Indiana has received more than $1.4 million from the state in legal fees since Pence took office, thanks to successful constitutional challenges to hot-button issues. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on March 29 issued a design patent for the Garden Tower 2, created in Indiana, and other patents are pending for an invention that allows up to 50 plants to grow in a compact space that would fit on the most modest apartment patio. The recent 51 percent bar passage rate for February 2016 test-takers is the lowest since 2002.