The 2018 Indiana State Bar Association annual meeting began last week with an intense debate in the House of Delegates over a proposal designed to make a statement about the bar’s position on hot-button topics: should attorneys be required to attend CLE programs about diversity and mental health issues?
Longtime Indianapolis real estate development attorney Barbara A. Wolenty is being remembered as a talented but tough dealmaker, spirited and gifted friend, well-regarded adviser and beloved mother and wife. Wolenty died Oct. 2 at age 62 after battling cancer.
When parties arrive for mediation and extend their hands in greeting, James Browne understands the cultural differences that can be conveyed in the handshake. Browne, partner at Goodin Abernathy LLP in Indianapolis, has been a registered mediator since 2010 and offers bilingual mediation services.
“These cases are not just someone with a tummy ache,” said William Marler, the food safety expert and attorney who launched his fledgling career after successfully representing more than 100 other Jack in The Box food-poisoning victims. Since then, he has represented hundreds of victims in some of the most serious foodborne illness outbreaks in the country, winning more than $600 million in settlements.
An Indianapolis attorney must pay a $1,000 fine for failing to appear in federal court to defend a teen being tried as an adult in an alleged gang-related killing and an armed robbery of a Broad Ripple-area pharmacy.
A South Bend attorney was reprimanded by the Indiana Supreme Court on Friday after agreeing that she violated the Rules of Professional Conduct by collecting an unreasonable fee.
A suspended Decatur lawyer who faces multiple disciplinary charges — including for accusations that she signed a judge’s name on a phony divorce order and sent emails posing as a deputy prosecutor — has again been suspended for failing to cooperate with investigations.
One has realized her dream of being mayor of her hometown and the other is leading in a legal field that has typically attracted more men than women. Neither likes the spotlight, preferring to share any recognition, but both are credited with carving new paths for women and mentoring the next generation.
A couple of years into his practice at Kightlinger & Gray, a senior partner at the firm gave J. Todd Spurgeon a simple directive: “You are going to get involved in the bar association.” The rest, as they say, is history: Spurgeon’s now the incoming president of the Indiana State Bar Association.
A small-town attorney with a folksy manner and sly wit, J. Lee McNeely never wanted to be anywhere other than his hometown of Shelbyville. The Indiana Bar Foundation named him the 2018 Legendary Lawyer in recognition of his public service, community service and contributions to the legal profession during more than 50 years of practice.
Nearly two years after a national organization released a report that was highly critical of Indiana’s public defense system, a statewide task force has issued a report of its own that lays out the issues hindering Hoosier defendants’ access to counsel and makes recommendations for improvement.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for a Bloomington lawyer accused of legal malpractice, finding the evidence negated the proximate cause element of the claim.
An attorney who has represented thousands of people sickened by contaminated food products dating back to the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak will speak at Indiana University McKinney School of Law Thursday.
Catholic dioceses around Indiana are preparing to celebrate the traditional Red Mass in coming weeks. Special receptions will follow each service and feature keynote speakers discussing an array of topics of interest to the legal community.
James Sweeney was confirmed by a voice vote in a rare show of Senate bipartisanship. The next day, a Barnes & Thornburg colleague saw him at work and wondered why he was not taking at least a little time off. Sweeney said he wanted to pull his weight.
The orange textured exterior had to go, but otherwise the one-story building with a walkout basement on the edge of Broad Ripple Village was the perfect spot for the lawyers of Fox Williams & Sink LLC.
in an age of technology, new legal tech tools are being designed to provide attorneys with more specific answers for clients’ numerous questions about expected case outcomes. Legal analytics tools provide data on how a judge typically rules on summary judgment motions, how long a particular judge generally takes to decide a case or how often opposing counsel chooses to settle.
Law firms are recognizing the personal and professional responsibilities that compete for attorneys' attention and finding ways to address those needs, including providing services such as around-the-clock family care for children and aging parents.
One of the new tensions of moving a law firm or legal department toward more businesslike behavior is culture. Critics constantly ask, “Will our culture be ruined?” “Will our culture be changed?” “Should we even be concerned about the impact change may have on culture?” “Does culture matter?”
Legal employers interested in helping colleagues impaired by issues such as substance abuse, depression or cognitive degeneration now have a versatile toolkit they can customize to meet the needs of their attorney and the organization.