The DTCI resumes its popular feature, “Young Lawyer Spotlight,” introducing a few of its new members to the Indiana legal community at large. DTCI members are encouraged to submit the names of their new associates for inclusion in future Spotlight features.
Practicing law occupies your mind. Being a lawyer has been described as a thinking job and not just a doing job. Lately the news around us has been horrible, and the decisions we face about tasks as simple as buying groceries have been daunting. In these times, I have found my law practice to be a welcome respite from the world around me.
As more employees are able to leave home and return to their traditional workplace with peers, exposure increases by default. Given the increased interaction, Indiana worker’s compensation defense attorneys may be seeing just the beginning of their indirect battle with COVID-19. This article sheds light on Indiana’s treatment of diseases in the worker’s compensation setting and describes what an employer, its insurer, and its defense attorney should expect if faced with a COVID-19 claim.
The Defense Trial Counsel’s Annual Meeting will be held November 19-20 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. The DTCI’s Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for this year’s awards.
What a stressful year this has been! I think you now deserve to have some fun with your colleagues. That is why I hope you will join us at the DRI Annual Meeting in October.
This article looks at the practice of disclosing treating physicians as experts and the law underlying the reasons that treating physicians and their opinions should be disclosed in the course of discovery.
This article is part two of a two-part series exploring marital privilege at the Indiana state and federal levels.
The somewhat solitary experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed several lessons that directly affect the practice of law, the ripple effects of which we may feel for a long time.
While many Hoosiers have been ordered by Gov. Holcomb to shelter in place and practice social distancing when necessary, others are on the front lines of essential businesses, taking care of the critical needs of the sick and healthy. One group that may appear less obviously “essential” comprises men and women in the construction workforce.
Marital privilege exists at the state and federal level, although the rules and law governing it differ by forum. The privilege aims to foster marital health and harmony, freeing spouses to communicate without concern that their intimate communications could be used against them.
Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana member Megan Culp reflects on the positive things I’ve experienced during the COVID-19 crisis to give others a small distraction from the negatives.
Attorneys representing governmental entities will serve their clients well to read the Indiana Supreme Court’s opinion from Timbs, which will provide insights into certain issues the court considers important in evaluating claims that a specific forfeiture violated the respondent’s rights under the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment.
The Indiana Products Liability Act (IPLA) includes a 10-year statute of repose, which time-bars claims brought more than 10 years after delivery of the product to the buyer. Until recently, it was an open question of law whether a company refurbishing or repairing a product restarted the statute of repose clock.
Attorneys representing entities that engage in civil forfeitures should familiarize themselves with the U.S. Supreme Court’s State v. Timbs ruling to ensure their clients comply with the ruling and the entity’s constitutional obligations.
Currently, Indiana employers must cautiously navigate a maze of different marijuana laws affecting their employees working across state lines. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
You never know who you’ll meet, where they’ll end up or what role they might play in your future. And you never know who they may know. Relationships matter.
Complex litigation often boils down to a battle of experts, and jurors are frequently left to decipher which expert they find more credible. Most battle-of-the-expert cases hinge on a minor evidentiary score that casts your opposing party’s expert in an unfavorable light.
Learn the many valuable and practical benefits of membership in Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana.
Hiring diverse attorneys is a good start; however, giving diverse attorneys a seat at the table will ultimately determine whether a firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts have been effective.
At the November annual meeting of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana, the following officers and directors were elected. They assumed office January 1, 2020.