Hammerle on… “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down”
Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Bob Hammerle gives us his take on “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” and “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.”
Opinion
Articles
IndyBar: President’s Message: News from the CJC
The Community Justice Campus (CJC for short) has been open for business for three months, so I would like to take the opportunity to provide some reflections and information about the transition and our current operations.
Marquez: What is the cost of cybersecurity? Often, convenience
With every decision come factors we must prioritize to better guide us in making choices that align with what we value most. In terms of technology investments, these factors often boil down to security, convenience and cost.
Macchia: Mental health at work: Flagging key issues for employers
While recent events have contributed to and exacerbated this problem, the presence of mental health issues in the workplace existed long before the beginning of a global pandemic. Despite that fact, employers still at times simply do not know how to confront and handle mental health issues.
Maurer: In Roe decision, justice tainted high court
Let’s focus on one man, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who besmirched the very institution on which he serves by misleading Maine Sen. Susan Collins and the American people about his determination to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Townsend: WOTCs can increase diversity, reduce labor shortages
In a tight labor market with diversity, equity and inclusion front of mind, some employers have expanded their outreach to prospective employees under the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).
Kilies and Simonton: Employee protections after Bostock
Employers likely remember Bostock v. Clayton County, the landmark decision where the Supreme Court of the United States extended Title VII’s “because of sex” protections to sexual orientation and transgender status. In that case, the Supreme Court made clear that it is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for employers to terminate employees for being gay or transgender but left open some questions.
Op-ed: Providing legal representation to children in the welfare system
There is one area of law where the state of Indiana may intrude into your life, remove you from your home and place you in a private locked facility, all without providing an opportunity to consult with an attorney: our child welfare system.
Hammerle on… “Downton Abbey: A New Era” and “Thor: Love and Thunder”
Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Robert Hammerle gives us his take on “Downton Abbey: A New Era” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
IndyBar: September is IndyBar Member Appreciation Month!
While it’s our goal year-round to make you, IndyBar members, more profitable and productive in your practice, we’re taking extra care during the month of September to show you how much we appreciate you!
IndyBar: WIP It Good: What Can Work in Progress Tell You About the Future of Your Law Firm?
“Work in Progress” (often abbreviated to WIP) is a representation of work outstanding for law firm clients. While most lawyers just let it ride and take it for granted that the work just keeps coming in and keeps getting done — WIP has some predictive powers that law firms are largely ignoring.
IndyBar: Help Us Honor Excellence: Nominations Now Open for IndyBar Recognition Awards
The Indianapolis legal community is fortunate to be home to many talented, dedicated professionals, and we need your help in identifying our colleagues who went above and beyond this past year!
Smith: Written advocacy in the electronic age: Do’s and don’ts
Embracing the recent advances in technology, every court in Indiana is now part of the Indiana Electronic Filing System. This means almost every judge in this state — from small claims to the Supreme Court — now reads some part of your written work product on an iPad, laptop, smartphone or computer screen. Many attorneys, however, still have not changed their writing styles and practices to reflect this, and they are missing significant advocacy opportunities as a result.
Dillman: Economic instability and the need to plan for long-term care
The current economic crisis has rattled the confidence of all of us, including my clients. If you are in a practice that focuses on pre-planning, then I am sure you are seeing a similar reaction. Clients who are typically proactive are now pulling back on the reins and taking care of immediate needs — doing just enough to address these immediate needs — rather than preparing for the near future.
Albaugh: Legal technology from the client’s perspective: Good and bad
Recently during a lunch with a business owner and client, I asked about legal technology that she likes and that makes her life easier. Her answer — and the answers received after asking others — was enlightening.
IndyBar: The Most Valuable Voir Dire? What you need to hear vs. What you want to hear
The information learned during voir dire will, of course, inform the parties’ actions regarding peremptory and causal challenges. In addition, it provides some insight about individual jurors ultimately seated on the jury, the overall composition of the jury and individuals who have a higher probability of serving as the foreperson.
Brinkerhoff: Poetic advice: Be kind while there is still time
One of my favorite podcasts, “Men in Blazers,” is led in part by a beautiful soul named Roger Bennett, whose recall of works of literature (among his other gifts) is stunning even to this trivia nerd. When discussion on the podcast turns from soccer to things way more important than soccer, Bennett often recites the poignant closing lines of Philip Larkin’s “The Mower” from “Collected Poems,” which inspired me in writing this column and which advice I hope we can all remember: “… we should be careful/Of each other, we should be kind/While there is still time.”
IndyBar: President’s Message: Give Us More Summer!
Gone are the summers that lasted from Memorial Day to Labor Day. And to those naysayers who say we can’t get the 180 days of required schooling in without a shorter summer, I say, “baloney!”
Makris: The family law attorney’s guide to the Community Justice Center
With the opening of the new Marion County Community Justice Center come many exciting upgrades to the courtroom experience. While the move from the City-County Building marks the nostalgic end of an era, the CJC offers modern and innovative features that will serve as valuable assets to the family law trial attorney.
Hammerle on… “Father of the Bride” and “The Black Phone”
Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Robert Hammerle gives us his take on “Father of the Bride” and “The Black Phone.”