Happy New Year! It is a true honor and privilege to serve as the 2021 President of the Indianapolis Bar Association. I am committed to working with our outstanding Board of Directors, committee, section and division leaders and staff to continue to meet and exceed our commitment to the practice of law, continuing legal education and community service.
It’s the season of giving and even during the hardships of 2020, generous sponsors, bidders and donors helped the Indianapolis Bar Foundation raise over $26,000 during IndyBar’s Giving, this year’s online silent auction to benefit the programs and initiatives of the foundation.
As coronavirus cases across the Hoosier state spiked to record levels in recent weeks and winter quickly approached, many attorneys made the hard decision to break with cherished holiday traditions and distance themselves from family and friends for the holidays.
2020 has been (and no doubt will continue to be) like riding a roller coaster in a hurricane. Fortunately, for the IndyBar, we have a committed membership that has responded in amazing ways.
The new IndyBarHQ space is now open to members! Click here to take a tour of our new home by checking out these photos.
For 2020 (and likely 2021,) in lieu of the annual gala, the IndyBar Foundation will host an online holiday auction: IndyBar’s Giving. This special event will take place during the week of Thanksgiving in an effort to kick-start holiday shopping and get members into the holiday spirit.
IndyBar members and the community showed overwhelming support during the Indianapolis Bar Foundation’s third annual Day of Giving, which raised $36,275 from more than 250 donors.
The Indianapolis Bar Foundation (IBF), the charitable arm of the Indianapolis Bar Association, is a community-focused leader of the local legal profession. The foundation’s ongoing grants and programs are maintained solely through the generosity and energy of its directors, fellows and donors.
The Crisis Empowerment Grant Program was a wholesale success! More than 110 cases were settled and dozens of cases have been finalized and paid out. More than 40 cases are still active and the selected lawyers continue to work with their clients to assist with their legal issues.
The Indianapolis Bar Association’s Nominating Committee has announced the selection of Rebecca Geyer as the 2023 President of the Indianapolis Bar Association. Geyer will serve as the association’s First Vice President on the 2021 Board of Directors and as President Elect in 2022.
Check out some of the fun, frightful and festive fall fun in store to support the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Foundation!
Let’s dispense with the pleasantries and get real. We are not OK. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, suffering through a highly contested presidential election, gearing up for another Supreme Court battle, the Pacific Northwest is on fire, the Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast have been hit with so many hurricanes that they are using the Greek alphabet, we have all been forced to conserve toilet paper at some point in the last six months, and the cherry on top — many of us are educating our kids from home while working full-time jobs. What in the literal 2020 is happening? I honestly have no idea, but I have devised a three-part survival guide to get us through this.
Get on board with the local legal community: nominations are being accepted now for positions on the board of directors for both the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Foundation! Nominations of colleagues as well as self-nominations are welcomed.
The focus of the Virtual Ask-a-Lawyer was to provide a place for people to get real help, direction and referrals, especially as the full impact of COVID-19 was shuttering businesses and causing waves of unemployment. To date, since May 2020, more than 100 attorneys have volunteered through the virtual desk and over the telephone to provide answers to more than 1,352 questions.
Get on board with the local legal community: nominations are being accepted now for positions on the board of directors for both the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Foundation! Nominations of colleagues as well as self-nominations are welcomed.
When we learned that Jim passed away earlier this month, the outpouring of support and remembrances from past IndyBar and Indianapolis Bar Foundation presidents was immense. Nearly every IndyBar leader with whom I’ve interacted in my 15-year career shared a memory of how Jim touched the profession, and often their individual practices, in a tangibly positive way.
Last week, the Indianapolis Bar Foundation (IBF) Lawyer Links Classic Golf Outing was held in the most 2020 way possible — in the pouring rain. Despite Mother Nature’s bad humor, there was a great turnout.
Named after the Internal Revenue Code section that governs them, Section 529 College Savings Plans (529 Plans) are higher-education savings plan trusts established under section 529(b) of the Internal Revenue Code as “qualified tuition programs.” 529 Plans offer tremendous benefits when planning for educational expenses.
2020. Who would have thought that one year could change so many things? Things we thought were certain, nonnegotiable, and established norms as lawyers were cast aside along with vacation plans, professional sports and pants with buttons. This fall will bring even more uncertainty into our lives as we send our children back to school.
Dean Andrew Klein routinely tells us that he isn’t going anywhere after his one-year sabbatical. He intends to return to the classroom at IU McKinney. Law students will be better off for it. He intends to continue to support the IndyBar and the IBF and, in turn, the Indianapolis legal community. Our profession will be better off for it.