Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman

The incoming leaders at Hall Render and Ice Miller are part of a wave of new management settling into the corner offices of law firms across the country, facing the challenge of creating a new work life for their lawyers and fighting for talent amid unprecedented competition.

At the start of 2021, 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.

Two Indianapolis lawyers who had an idea to start a pro bono mediation service for family law cases were stunned by the reception from the local legal community, as more than 100 answered a call for volunteers. “It’s mind-blowing,” said one of the organizers of a program described as “blue jeans mediation.”