Quick: Marketing checklist — which are your firm’s best choices?
It used to be pretty easy: Get that big ad in the print Yellow Pages, next to dozens of competing law firms, and you’re done. But how do you market your firm in the digital age?
Opinion
Articles
Bowling: Calm within the storm — Advice for new attorneys
As much as I’d like to tell you otherwise, beginning your new career that you’ve devoted the last three years of your life preparing for isn’t all sunsets and splendor. It’s tough, but with the right advice and the right attitude, it can be fun.
Lueken: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act requires review of irrevocable trusts
Have you reviewed your clients’ estate plans since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Act”) took effect? Among its myriad changes, the Tax Act drastically increased the federal estate tax exemption.
Kissel & Snellenbarger: When to tell the IRS about gifts to children
When giving gifts to children, we think about birthdays and achievements, but we rarely question whether those gifts are taxable or reportable. Even if only using a portion of your lifetime exemption, be sure gifts to children are reported when necessary.
Retzner: Indiana’s ‘legacy trust’ law creates new asset protection strategy
Indiana embarks on a bold new planning strategy on July 1. As of that date, individuals will be able to avail themselves of “legacy trusts” as an additional method by which they can lawfully protect assets against creditors.
Trimble: The continuum of law — not a one-size-fits-all profession
As I have made my own observations about the pace of change in the legal profession, and the supposed differences in generations, I have come to the realization that a career in law is a continuum, and that we all slide up and down that continuum as our life cycles change. Law never has been, nor will it ever be a “one-size-fits-all” occupation.
Hammerle on… “Hail Satan?” and “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum”
For a devilish mockumentary, movie reviewer Robert Hammerle suggests “Hail Satan?” And as a cinematic shooting gallery but little more, “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” hits the target.
Federal Bar Update: Be careful with summary judgment
As federal court practitioners know, in seeking summary judgment, the movant must set forth the facts favorably for the non-movant. In a recent ruling, Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson issued a must-read 44-page opinion reinforcing the importance of this requirement.
Wood: A Day in the Life, or, how JLAP can help, 8 days a week
A day in the life at Indiana’s Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program often begins with a phone call, sometimes late at night or early in the morning, which could be a lifeline.
Bell: 3 things to know about making ‘bad mistakes’
I have known some lawyers who have never made a mistake before, and if you give them a chance, they’ll tell you how infallible they are. But what about the rest of us who sometimes don’t live up to our own expectations?
Hammerle on… “Avengers: Endgame” and “Hesburgh”
Movie reviewer Robert Hammerle says “Avengers: Endgame” is a superhero classic for the ages, while the documentary “Hesburgh” is an enlightening portrait of a University of Notre Dame legend.
Sicuso & Miranda: What the omnibus gaming bill means for Hoosier casinos
Late into the evening on April 24, the Indiana General Assembly voted to approve what may fairly be referred to as the most significant omnibus gaming bill in a decade. Here’s a high-level breakdown of what the final version of HEA 1015 does.
Barner: Cummins’ centennial presents challenges, opportunities for general counsel
In today’s fast-paced, competitive environment, few companies reach their centennial anniversary, and even fewer do so with the rich legacy of values-driven leadership that Cummins enjoys. That is why I am honored to lead the in-house legal function as we celebrate this remarkable milestone.
Bont: Government’s gang reports not clowning around
In 2011, the FBI’s National Gang Intelligence Center Report identified the Juggalos — criminal-minded fans of the musical act Insane Clown Posse — of the as a “hybrid gang,” which was nebulously defined as a loosely organized group of individuals with multiple affiliations and a high propensity for random criminal activity. Juggalos are no longer classified as a gang.
Start Page: Using Screen Time to harness, control the power of your iPhone
Who among us has not opened our favorite social media application, only to find that 20 (or more) minutes later, we are wondering where the time went? There’s an app for that.
Rudolph & St. Pierre: Anyone worried about attorney-client privilege in mediation?
Your client wants to bring a nonparty friend/significant other/family member to mediation, but you worry that the presence of a nonparty will allow opposing counsel access to the substance of your mediation-related communications with your client. Is this worry justified?
Brown: It’s never too late to learn, especially from fellow mediators
Although I’ve been at this law thing for a while and have mediated cases over the last 10 years, I always find value in hearing about the experiences and strategies of others who have accumulated the awareness and wisdom of playing peacemaker on a regular basis.
Lewinski: Challenged to “Locke” into a property rights resolution
In the curriculum for business ethics that I teach to students at Butler University’s Lacy School of Business, we cover John Locke and his notion of private property rights – natural rights that existed for each individual in the state of nature. Locke contended that men left that state of nature, in part, because the challenge of enforcing those rights led to a state of war. In more than 30 years of real estate litigation practice, I have seen what often looks like that state of war play out between litigants.
Living Fit: A few helpful hints for breaking and making habits
Some habits are great. Many that we in the legal profession have created are harmful. Once habits are formed, they are difficult to break because they are second nature — we forget we are doing them. The process is set in motion before you realize, “I’m doing it again.”
Hammerle on… “Shazam!,” “The Best of Enemies” and “Pet Sematary”
Movie reviewer Robert Hammerle says there was not much to see in the days before the latest Marvel superhero flick dominated the box office universe.