One of the saddest parts of my job is when a victim of an unscrupulous lawyer calls, asking in exasperation, “Is there anything that can be done about this?” The very saddest part is the realization that, deep down, the caller already knows the answer is no, or next to no. The legal profession has no contingency when one of its own who swore an oath goes rogue and steals from vulnerable clients. This must change.
Indiana has submitted a request for a 10-year extension of its Medicaid alternative program, the Healthy Indiana Plan, and still included is the suspended work requirement that was imposed on some enrollees in the public assistance program but is currently under review by the courts.
There’s a new pro bono organization in town, and it’s bringing a relatively large change to Indiana’s pro bono system. Pro Bono Indiana was established at the beginning of this year to consolidate the administration of Indiana’s pro bono districts while still preserving the autonomy of the local nonprofit programs that have been serving the pro bono districts for years.
Movie reviewer Robert Hammerle wonders why more people are not flocking to “Birds of Prey,” while “Just Mercy” is an emotionally moving film that hits close to home.
To elevate Indiana women in the traditionally male-dominated white-collar defense bar, the Indianapolis chapter of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association was founded in 2015. The primary goal of the group is to build a referral network so female lawyers are likelier to get handed a case or asked to represent a client.
The idea of increasing health care affordability and cost transparency has received bipartisan support, but the devil has been in the details. Even so, federal lawmakers feel confident Congress will enact legislation to end surprise billing this year, while Indiana lawmakers say they’re committed to creating state solutions to drive down Hoosier health care costs.
While reflecting on our time writing this column, it became clear that we have not addressed an important aspect of our lives and future legal careers: We are women in the law. Obviously, the legal field has historically been dominated by men, and usually those who are well-off. In our time in law school we have seen a growing movement of greater diversity in the field, paving the way for different groups of people to make their mark in the profession and on the legal landscape.
Instead of spending his holiday season surrounded by all things merry and bright, immigration attorney Rudy Monterrosa spent days at what he described as an ominous place akin to a concentration camp. For the second year in a row, Monterrosa took a team to the Texas-Mexico border to offer free legal services to women and children seeking asylum in the United States. His experience this time, however, was quite different.
Law firms with offices and law schools with programs in China have been proactive in response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. For example, Dentons has temporarily closed its office in Wuhan and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP told Indiana Lawyer it has closed some offices in China. Law schools in the state have suspended all staff and faculty travel to China.
Nearly one in five Hoosiers is on Medicaid, a program that pays for medical care, hospitalization, drugs, skilled nursing and other services for low-income and disabled people. But the future of the program is now up in the air after the Trump administration announced in January it would allow states to add eligibility requirements, benefit changes and drug-coverage limits.
Many lawyers are already familiar with Outlook on their desktop computer and have it set up to help them manage their emails. The problem is that emails come in at all times of the day (and night), and having a device that is connected outside of the office means you are constantly connected to email. There are times when that is a good and necessary thing, but there are other times when it interferes with what you are trying to get done. So, what do you do to keep email under control? Change your perspective by using a different version of Outlook.
Indiana legislators aren’t likely to revive a proposal aimed at requiring more businesses to provide workplace accommodations for pregnant women. Gov. Eric Holcomb urged lawmakers to support the proposal, but it was rebuffed in the state Senate by his fellow Republicans earlier this month.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has vacated an order requiring an Edinburgh antique store to leave its place of business, finding an agreement between the store and the real estate’s owner was a land sale contract and not a lease subject to an eviction proceeding.
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral argument this week in a criminal expungement case that has previously divided the Indiana Court of Appeals about when the trigger date for five-year expungement waiting periods should begin.
A man who filed a medical malpractice claim against a doctor and hospital following his surgery for a herniated disc could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he should be permitted to amend his complaint and add a federal claim.
On the heels of luring some key lateral hires and opening three new locations in December, Barnes & Thornburg is again expanding with the opening of its first office in New York.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the exclusion of real estate and an internet service provider company from the marital assets of a couple in their divorce proceedings, agreeing with a trial court that the challenged assets were actually the property of the husband’s parents.
Indiana’s attempt to impose work requirements on some Medicaid recipients likely suffered a setback Feb. 14 when an appellate court ruled that similar mandates in Arkansas fell outside the core objective of the federal health care program.
The Trump administration said Tuesday it will waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Homeland Security said waiving procurement regulations will allow 177 miles of wall to be built more quickly in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Barraged by hundreds of sex-abuse lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday in hopes of working out a potentially mammoth victim compensation plan that will allow the 110-year-old organization to carry on.