As COVID-19 numbers descend, we are left with a plethora of mixed feelings. Many are overwhelmed with joy and giddiness. Some are still numb and can’t feel anything — yet. And others are trying to make sense of the past two years and the lasting realities that lay ahead. Our courts and judges fit into the latter category.
Research demonstrates that practicing mindful behavior can improve your mental and physical health by reducing chronic pain, lowering blood pressure, and combatting depression and anxiety.
It’s been about 5½ years since I joined the staff of Indiana Lawyer, and my job has changed a lot in that relatively short amount of time. Each of those roles has had a different job description, but one duty has stayed constant: Each year, I read through dozens of nominations, then sit on the selection panel to choose our annual Leadership in Law Awards winners.
The American Bar Association recently awarded the Louis M. Brown Select Award to the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Virtual Ask a Lawyer program last week. Winning the award was quite a feat as the other finalists were programs run by state bar associations. This national recognition reveals the special and unique nature of our legal community, which is so willing to help those in need.
Indiana criminal defense attorney Robert Hammerle gives us his take on “Scream,” “The Velvet Queen” and the 2022 Oscar nominations.
Midwestern farms are sitting on an untapped resource to meet climate change goals, namely, millions of acres of farmland that have always been farmed to maximize production. Soil and climate scientists are finding that with some production changes, such as planting cover crops during fallow periods to ensure soil is always pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, farmers can increase soil uptake of carbon in farmland.
It seems people like to complain about Apple Siri’s technology. Most of the time, the complaints seem to be about Siri not recognizing voice commands or accurately converting voice to text. Siri is one of those tools that has a lot of promise. While it has not exactly lived up to the hype, there are some features that are useful. It continues to get better. Here are some thoughts on how you can get more out of Siri and “voice to task” technology.
COVID-19 regulations have found their way into the legal and political spheres. The most recent and highly anticipated legal battle made its way to the Supreme Court, leaving the court to decide how employers should be regulated when it comes to mitigating COVID-19 risks. With the current composition of the Supreme Court, including three new justices, the court ultimately left the regulation to the employers themselves, at least temporarily.
Over the last few years, one of the most talked about — and confounding — topics in environmental law has been the issue of PFAS contamination (of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). A pervasive part of our modern lives, from Teflon to Scotchgard to firefighting foam, PFAS compounds now seem to be both a blessing and a curse.
Recently, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint on behalf of the state of Indiana against Google LLC. State of Indiana v. Google LLC is pending in Marion Superior Court 4 under Cause No. 49D04-2201-PL-002399. In the complaint, the state alleges that Google harvests consumers’ personal data, including location data, when consumers use Google products. Google in turn allegedly uses this data to target advertisements to consumers and evaluate the effectiveness of these advertisements.
Conceptually, environmental justice is the “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income, with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.” The concept of environmental justice is not new, but came to the forefront during the Obama administration in the aftermath of the Flint, Michigan, lead-contaminated drinking water crisis. However, environmental justice never became a coherent strategy and was overshadowed by significant rulemakings around climate change. That has changed in the first year of the Biden administration.
As some of my mentors have left to pursue new opportunities and others are nearing retirement, I have been reflecting on how fortunate I have been throughout my career to have truly exceptional mentors.
Many trainings and conversations around DEIAB (diversity, equity, inclusion, access and belonging) barely scratch the surface of the complexity of issues and the people involved. Ted Lasso can help make the work easier. I love the Apple TV+ show “Ted Lasso” and its one-liners, one of which is pertinent to DEIAB work: “be curious, not judgmental.”
There are over 200 holidays and events that celebrate diversity and inclusion. With the breadth of worthy celebrations, how does your organization select the right ones to recognize?
Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Bob Hammerle gives us his take on “The King’s Man,” “The 355” and “Drive My Car.”
Save your seat in a private focus room, a meeting room or even the IndyBarHQ Education Center!
Creating a trust comes with a crucial decision: choosing the trustee. There are some key things that are important for your clients to consider when determining the right trustee.
If our goal is to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, the focus cannot just be on hiring diverse attorneys. Law firms must also make concerted efforts in retaining their diverse attorneys.
Well before the current pandemic, BYOD policies were already in place for many law firms. BYOD stands for “bring your own device,” which in general terms allows users to access corporate data on their own personal devices.