Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, I.C. 24-5-0.5 et seq., is a fairly complicated statute clothed in relative obscurity. The DCSA’s complexity is due partly to the way it is written, its scope, and the numerous cross-references to other conduct and statutes that fall within its purview. This article will introduce the statute, discuss its uses, implications, and its application to various types of transactions.
Guess what? Unless you keep your office door closed, don’t talk on the telephone and don’t use email/Facebook/Twitter, you mentor every working day.
The Defense Trial Counsel’s Annual Meeting will be held Nov. 20-21 at French Lick Resort. One of the highlights of the meeting is the presentation of the Defense Lawyer of the Year, the Diplomat of the Indiana Defense Trial Counsel, and the Outstanding Young Lawyer awards.
Independent contractors are usually excluded from coverage under the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Act. Accordingly, an individual’s status as an independent contractor may serve as a defense to an otherwise compensable claim. While this general principle – that independent contractors are not covered by the Act – seems simple enough, the provisions of the Act addressing independent contractors can give rise to some complex legal and factual issues.
“If you could do it all over again, would you still be a lawyer?” Anyone reading this has probably been asked the question. I myself cannot think of anything else that I would do, and of course, my answer is “Yes!”
Volume XI of the DTCI Indiana Civil Litigation Review is now in the planning stages. The board of editors is seeking ideas and authors for articles for Volume XI, deadline September 2014.
When you assist and prepare an expert witness and ask him to formulate his opinion, you may wonder whether your oral and written communications with the expert will be discoverable. Being required to disclose such communications in discovery depends on whether your case is in federal or state court since the federal and Indiana rules currently differ as to what is protected.
To the extent practicable, young attorneys should rely on their own devices to determine what needs to be done, and how to do it, rather than expect the more senior attorney to spell it out for them.
On April 17, 2014, more than 60 female defense attorneys attended the kick-off luncheon for DTCI’s newest committee: Women in the Law.
Publicly funded construction projects in Indiana have long been governed by statutes that set forth the procedures by which certain public entities must select the contractors performing the work.
We have all noticed that there are a lot of lawyers. On top of that, there are a lot of lawyers with less work than they would like. Lawyering is a business and is controlled by traditional rules of commerce: supply, demand, pricing, quality, branding. Lawyers are the product. They are the brand.
Patrick Reilly writes to help defense lawyers develop strategies to achieving the best possible results in selecting, conducting and winning mediations.
While there is no right or wrong answer, mentoring and networking can go a long way in helping women feel like they are not alone in their personal and professional lives. DTCI wants to make this even easier by expanding the available network of strong and successful women lawyers. DTCI has created the Women in the Law Division.
Join us April 17 for lunch at Osteria Pronto at the JW Marriott at 11 a.m. for the launch of the DTCI Women in the Law Section.
Why unnamed insureds have no right to bring bad-faith claims.
It is unusual to open a lawyers’ magazine without seeing an article about civility. What happened to “civil” litigation? It must be like the weather – a lot of people are writing about it, but no one seems to be doing anything about it.
The DTCI’s flagship publication, the Indiana Civil Litigation Review, will be distributed soon. Members and subscribers can anticipate another issue full of valuable information and analyses by leaders of Indiana’s defense bar.
In June 2013, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman, is unconstitutional. In essence, the court held that the Act denied same-sex couples the “equal liberty” guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. This decision has far broader impact than just the scope of the estate-tax issues raised in the case, and employers and benefit providers should be aware of the impact and aftermath of this ruling.
What happens when a family member is diagnosed with a terminal illness and begins the somber review of their bucket list, noticing that a trip to Las Vegas is still unchecked? Would taking time to accompany and care for that family member be included in the definition of caring for under the FMLA?