Should SCOTUS fail to take up the matter now or fail to address broader issues and provide a more cogent framework for Section 101 patent eligibility in its determination, I expect the next round of significant news on the subject to be Congress stepping in and acting.
The Hamilton County courts have been piloting, in select family law cases, a program for the online submission of trial exhibits through a website called CaseLines, part of Thomson Reuters. Attorneys and their teams can log in to a website, upload their digital exhibits for a hearing and the participants have access to those files for the hearing. The website is one place where the exhibits are stored and all participants can access at the hearing.
May 2011 was a magical time for me, personally and professionally. I completed all course work and passed exams required to participate in the annual commencement at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. The words from the speaker a decade ago — and his legacy — reverberate to this day.
A half-century ago two Indiana legislators, a Democrat from Gary and a Republican from Kokomo, set forth to improve our courts. The Democrat was my father, Adam Benjamin Jr. The Republican was Elwood “Bud” Hillis. The Lake Superior Court selects judges on merit because of their efforts.
As the pandemic forced attorneys to work from remote locations, they have seen how well they could do it. They and their spouses have had a glimpse of a different, slower lifestyle, and it has appealed to them. For many, retirement, which was previously just a distant concept, has grown more realistic. At a minimum, a significant number of my lawyer friends have decided to work fewer hours, and they are confident that they are ready to slow down.
Many commercial real estate owners, even those who previously did not intend to sell, are considering selling their real estate to take advantage of current market conditions. With transactions seemingly becoming quicker each year, it is important for owners to consider many factors when preparing to sell their real estate, including executing an Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1031 exchange.
Movie reviewer Robert Hammerle shares his takes on three Oscar-nominated films: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Crip Camp” and “Sound of Metal”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how commercial real estate will be developed, built and used. Prudent real estate owners, developers, property managers and builders (and the lawyers who represent them) need to recognize this changed environment and proceed accordingly.
I asked former three-term Indiana Attorney General Linley Pearson, if you were a younger person today, would you run for office? He didn’t hesitate. “There’s no question today I could not be in politics,” he said. “It’s just totally changed, and it’s not very attractive to me. … If you want to exaggerate or malign a person, you could always do that, but do you want to do that?”
In a world where everything you need to know about a person is in the palm of your hand, some Indiana citizens have a hard time leaving their past mistakes behind. In order to address this, many lawyers dedicate their pro bono efforts to assisting with expungement clinics, which help eligible prior offenders seal certain arrest and conviction records.
The undeniable truth is that there is a long legislative history in this nation of powerful majorities diminishing and silencing the voices of minorities. While I have no reason to believe the motive of the current judicial selection legislation for Lake and St. Joseph counties is racial, this law will undoubtedly have a disproportionally negative effect on citizens who happen to be racial minorities.
On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, No. 17-1498, 140 S.Ct. 1335. The Court’s holding was relatively simple: plaintiffs (Montana landowners) could bring state court claims pursuing cleanup of additional contamination from the “Anaconda Smelter,” but they were first required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to seek the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval for additional cleanup. While on its face this decision addresses the interplay between CERCLA and Montana state law claims, the ramifications of Atlantic Richfield may be felt in Indiana.
A little more than four years ago, Hoosier Janet McCabe ended her service as assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. Since then, the most significant aspects of the Obama-era climate change regulations, namely the Clean Power Plan, have been unwound. Biden’s selection of McCabe signals a doubling down on regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
It has been just over one month since President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, and he is delivering on his promise to move quickly. Biden has signed more executive orders in his first 30 days than any president in U.S. history. Perhaps another record-breaking instance is the proportion of these actions that relate to energy and environmental policies.
Attorney Robert Hammerle reviews three new releases that left him contemplating: “Nomadland,” “MLK/FBI” and “First Cow.”
By initiating a constitutional amendment based on misinformation, three Indiana Republican state senators, now joined by multiple others, have proposed a radical resolution to eliminate citizen involvement in the retention vote of appellate judges, changing the current selection process that has been in place for 50 years. This proposal also severely decreases judicial independence and increases the political pressure on our state’s appellate judiciary. Indeed, if successful, the proposal would give the legislative branch far greater control over the Indiana state appellate judges and justices. It would also further embed in Indiana’s Constitution more systemic racism.
For more than 100 years, the principle that if a policy term is ambiguous it is construed against the insurer and in favor of the policyholder and coverage — known as “contra proferentem”—has been a foundation of Indiana’s insurance-coverage jurisprudence. The reasons supporting this rule are still as strong as ever.
Movie reviewer Robert Hammerle says “One Night in Miami” is a towering achievement while “The Dig” is a charming gem.
We’ve all scoped a Yelp review, been turned off by a customer’s dismal review and chosen a new restaurant. While restaurant management has the ability to respond to unfavorable online reviews, for a lawyer, it’s not that simple. Here are three things to know about responding to online criticism as a lawyer.
Despite serious travails during our history, presidential inaugurations seem to allow for a pause and some national confidence. Noting this recently, it is perhaps well that we set briefly aside our current concerns and allow some reflection to lighten us up and to observe the critical importance of the judicial branch.