DTCI: Avoiding Trial By Ambush
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.
Opinion
Articles
IndyBar: Cybersecurity Recommendations in Response to COVID-19
Skeleton crews at the office and the general distraction of the developing COVID-19 situation create windows of opportunity for social engineering tactics such as phishing. Now is a good time to remind your team that they are the first, and in some cases, the only line of defense against social engineering.
Hammerle on… The death of movie theaters
There was a great article in the New York Times on May 15 entitled “Movie Theaters Are on the Brink. Can Wine and Cheese Save Them?” The writer, James B. Stewart, pointed out several things that should scare all movie fans.
Moore & Sweet: A guide to will and trust validation in Indiana
We return to the scenario presented in a previous article, “Premortem validation could help avert will, estate contests” (Indiana Lawyer, Oct. 16, 2019). Recall that the mother (“mom”) changed her will six months before her death, giving the entire estate to her caregiver-daughter (“daughter”) and leaving nothing for her out-of-town son (“son”). Since Indiana has not yet enacted pre-mortem validation statutes for wills or trusts, daughter and son must argue the validity of the final will in court after mom has passed. This article discusses how the scenario (and a similar one dealing with a revocable trust) might play out under current Indiana law.
Collins: What I learned in my first 7 months of practice
Often, attorneys want to hit the ground running right out of law school and acquire as many clients as fast as they can. This sometimes includes getting involved in as many groups as you can fit into your schedule. While these are all good things to start developing immediately, the first and most important thing you want to accomplish is becoming a great lawyer.
DTCI: A Federal Law Refresher on Marital Privilege
This article is part two of a two-part series exploring marital privilege at the Indiana state and federal levels.
Retzner & Nichols: Estate planning with retirement assets and the SECURE Act
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (“SECURE Act”) was enacted on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act dramatically changes how an individual should structure his or her estate plan if there are qualified retirement accounts involved.
Maley: Tribute to Laura Briggs
With all the challenges facing bench, bar, and litigants in this difficult time, reflecting on something or someone good seems particularly appropriate for today’s column, rather than the usual nuance of jurisdiction and procedure. Laura Briggs is, by all means, someone good, indeed extraordinary. Most federal practitioners in the Southern District know this well, having benefited from Laura’s dedicated service as clerk since 1998.
IndyBar: We Are Open for Business as We Plan to Reopen for Business
Governor Holcomb and Mayor Hogsett (and countless other government and business leaders) are executing their plans to reopen the “new normal” economy. The IndyBar is no different. We are working hard on a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan that will allow some staff to return to IndyBarHQ in the coming weeks.
Tapp & Slusher: Surviving pandemic, murder hornets as new lawyer
When we all set our new year’s resolutions for 2020, none of us likely envisioned trying to achieve those goals in the midst of a pandemic. Phrases like “unprecedented” and “difficult times” are heard every five minutes. Staying at home by yourself and binge-watching Netflix while eating ice cream from the gallon bucket constitutes saving the world.
Kissel & Snellenbarger: A once-in-a-decade estate-planning opportunity
We are almost halfway through 2020 and have seen the stock market fall, rally and fall again. We have been trapped in our houses unable to help our unstable economy, attempting to find new hobbies to pass the time and, of course, practicing social distancing. The silver lining to this pandemic is that it has provided an opportunity for us to better ourselves, and with falling interest rates, transfer our clients’ wealth to the next generation.
JLAP: Indiana’s chief justice champions lawyer well-being
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush staunchly supports and promotes well-being in the legal profession. When she talks to Indiana judges, lawyers and law students, Rush frequently mentions the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program. During her State of the Judiciary speech in January, the first topic Rush mentioned was Indiana’s problem-solving courts, which focus on issues including drugs and mental health.
Bell & Grass: When silence isn’t golden: The ethics ‘boom shakalaka’ defense
Under normal circumstances, we would try to fill this column with something useful. We would try to give you tips that may help your practice, and we would hope that our column would give you a teensy-weensy bit of knowledge that might help you avoid an ethical problem down the road. However, these are not normal circumstances, so we feel like offering something a little different.
Bont: Trying times make jury trials virtually impossible
Zoom meetings are starting to grow on me, sweatpants are way more comfortable than a suit and Justice Clarence Thomas is letting loose during telephonic oral arguments that are being broadcast in real time on C-SPAN. Despite these nice diversions from reality, I think we are all ready for life to get back to normal sooner rather than later and especially to be rid of the financial stress associated with this time.
Trimble: Reflections from quarantine: Moving remote experiences
One of the unexpected bonuses of our current circumstance is that we have the time to reflect. Indeed, few of us have lived through a time that has had any greater cause to reflect than right now.
Pro Bono Matters: Pandemic forces legal aid groups to think outside the box
Pro bono and legal aid efforts are not immune to the adjustments needed to serve clients in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Court closures and restrictions on in-person gatherings have forced legal services organizations such as Indiana Legal Services Inc. to get creative about how they can continue to engage volunteer attorneys and provide legal services to those in need.
Hammerle On … Love lost and the painful reality of saying goodbye
Offering a couple of classic movie recommendations, movie reviewer Robert Hammerle also offers fond remembrances of attorney friends and their loved ones.
DTCI: Practical lessons learned from social distancing
The somewhat solitary experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed several lessons that directly affect the practice of law, the ripple effects of which we may feel for a long time.
Dan Rosio: Valuation factors during times of financial uncertainty
As the country focuses its attention on COVID-19, and with only essential businesses operating in much of the country, many private companies in a variety of industries are suffering the economic impact of the current public health crisis.
Osterday: So God made a millennial, and not a minute too late
Admittedly, we millennials are a bit coddled. But what preceding generations — and especially the legal profession — fail to appreciate is a millennial’s we-can-do-this-better attitude, particularly where technology is concerned. And arguably, that attitude should win the day right now.