Home » Opinion

Opinion

Articles

JLAP: Of course I heard you. What did you say?

I’m a lawyer, so I’m a good communicator, right? Or at least I have been conditioned to believe that. In my own practice, I listen and respond to arguments all the time. Reflecting on my personal interactions, I would like to think that I take the time to look and listen to the person I am speaking with. So what more could I do? Doesn’t this mean I’m a good listener? If attorneys are supposedly so good at communicating, do I know what am I actually communicating when I interact with colleagues, coworkers and clients?

Read More

Blaiklock and Whybrew: COVID-19 and force majeure in the manufacturing context

The global COVID-19 pandemic ground the world economy to a virtual halt in many sectors, including manufacturing. Many manufacturing lines slowed to a crawl or stopped completely. Travel became practically impossible, if not prohibited by various government orders. Despite that, supply contracts remain in place. What impact COVID-19 has on the legal relationships between customers and manufacturers will depend primarily on the presence — and nature — of force majeure clauses in the governing documents.

Read More

Bravo: ‘Failure to speak up would let down’ the legal community

| Karen E. Bravo

When I recently saw the video of George Floyd’s extrajudicial killing by law enforcement, a familiar sense of anguish, fury, hopelessness, and malaise swept over me. So did a sense of helplessness. We had seen this video before, over the long and many years. We had read this story. And yet, I had never before witnessed such a starkly calm extinguishment of a human life — a Black human life.

Read More

Quick: Best marketing during pandemic — Lend a hand

| Jon Quick

During this unprecedented time, I have been asked by a number of clients if they should alter their marketing plans. My answer is “Yes, but don’t stop marketing.” Further, attorneys — like many other businesses — while still doing at least partial in-person interaction, should consider increasing certain aspects of contact with customers.

Read More

Start Page: Using Microsoft Teams for mediation

| Seth Wilson

Personal and work lives have changed drastically in 2020, and we are only halfway through the year! If nothing else, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how flexible and resilient we need to and can be. It has also reminded us of how “essential” legal services are. What do you do when you are deemed “essential” during a global pandemic? You get creative.

Read More

Letter to the editor: Attorneys’ oath demands action

In light of excessive police violence, I call on my fellow barristers, who took the same oath as I, to begin living that oath. “I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless, the oppressed or those who cannot afford adequate legal assistance; so help me God.”

Read More

Applegate & Dillman: Tips for long-term care patients’ families during pandemic

| Carol Applegate and Lisa Dillman

Mid-March was likely the last time you saw your loved one in a senior living facility face-to-face. The coronavirus pandemic has led most nursing homes to close their doors or, at the very least, require stringent temperature checks and other precautions for urgent visits. As a result, families are fearful and anxious about the care their relatives are receiving and whether they will be exposed to the virus. Here are some tips for families that may help ease their fears.

Read More

Marquez: Top 5 tech tips for working remotely

| Deanna Marquez

Here are five key tips that will help improve your work-from-home experience. Even if you are starting to return to the office, these tips will remain helpful when the need to work remotely arises, and some will even come in quite handy in the office.

Read More

Stafford: Hill touts his record, so let’s look at his convictions

| Dave Stafford

Say what you will about Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, he is a man of convictions. But for purposes of this earned polemic, let’s set aside the wrongful convictions that are still being overturned from Hill’s years as Elkhart County prosecutor. Instead, let’s focus on his time as AG and explore Hill’s personal and political convictions.

Read More

Trimble: Sound advice from a nationally known lawyer coach

| John Trimble

For my column this edition I have the pleasure of introducing a friend, Cordell Parvin, who is one of America’s premier lawyer career coaches. In late February, just before the pandemic, I sat down with Cordell to get his take on a number of questions that had been simmering in my mind. I share that exchange with you now.

Read More

Fontan: First-year attorneys can flatten the learning curve

I cannot pretend to completely understand all the challenges new Indiana lawyers will face given the uncertainty of COVID-19. Despite this unprecedented set of circumstances, however, there are many lessons that are applicable not only in times of videoconferencing and home offices, but in future years of practice.

Read More

DTCI: Avoiding Trial By Ambush

| From DTCI

This article looks at the practice of disclosing treating physicians as experts and the law underlying the reasons that treating physicians and their opinions should be disclosed in the course of discovery.

 

Read More