COVID may have seemed like the only thing that happened in 2020, but for Indiana’s legal community, the past year brought watershed developments that will be with us for years to come, many of which were touched directly by the pandemic. Here are the Top 10 non-coronavirus Indiana legal news stories as determined by consensus of the Indiana Lawyer editorial staff.
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After recently shuttering its 140-year-old law school, Valparaiso University is going on the offensive to keep a donor from reclaiming a gift worth more than a million dollars that was made to support the legal education program.
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For students at law schools across the country, the global pandemic forced a breakneck shift from in-person classes and on-campus activities to distance learning as colleges and universities closed buildings and dorms to slow the spread of coronavirus.
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Cases handled by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office continue to be rescheduled or continued as the Indianapolis courts adjust operations in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Read MoreThree years after Valparaiso University Law School closed its doors, attorneys in northwest Indiana say they’re already seeing the impact of losing what had been a reliable feeder of lawyers into the surrounding communities.
Valparaiso University announced Thursday that is dropping the team name Crusaders, the school mascot and all logos associated with the term that it says has been embraced by hate groups.
A longtime attorney and managing partner of a Valparaiso law firm who also was an entrepreneur and known for co-hosting a weekly jazz radio program has died, his former firm announced Wednesday. William F. (Bill) Satterlee was 82.
An Allen County magistrate judge has been appointed to an open seat on the Allen Superior Court bench. Gov. Eric Holcomb made the appointment Friday.
The Indiana Supreme Court recently announced the 2020 class of Indiana Judicial College “graduates,” recognizing nine judges and magistrate judges for earning 120 hours of judicial education credits through programs offered by the court’s Indiana Office of Court Services. This year’s group is the 42nd to be inducted into the college by earning certification.
Indiana’s law schools have enrolled diverse and academically solid 1L classes for the fall 2020 semester, indicating the COVID-19 pandemic did not adversely impact the recruitment of students by the institutions.
A new jobs report from National Association for Law Placement says law school graduates in 2019 enjoyed some of the best of times while nodding to fears that the 2020 graduates may experience the worst of times.
Before the signs were taken down and the remnants of the past 140 years were put into an archive, Nadia Wardrip took her 2-year-old daughter to Valparaiso Law School at the end of May to snap a couple of photos. The Lake County deputy prosecutor had spent 12 hours a day, six days a week at the law school so she could become a prosecutor, as she had dreamed of doing since high school. Going back one last time helped her explain to her little girl how she became who she is.
In a final twist of cruelty, the final graduating class of Valparaiso Law School and the alumni did not get to gather one final time to commemorate their alma mater. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented faculty, alumni and friends from saying goodbye together. So the institution closed quietly after the class of 2020 concluded their studies in May, ending a tenure in legal education that began in 1879.
Valparaiso University has laid off 200 employees and has cut the salaries of others to save money during the coronavirus pandemic, the school announced. The northwestern Indiana institution previously announced that its law school will cease operations at the end of this semester after more than 140 years.
The coronavirus emergency is forcing many changes to legal education in Indiana. Law schools and the judiciary are changing procedures, canceling events and finding alternatives as the prohibitions on large gatherings appear likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
As potential law students are wondering whether they will be able to take the LSAT as scheduled this spring, those preparing to graduate law school are likely to be graded in their final term on a pass/fail basis.
The annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of the best law schools in the country brought disappointing results for Indiana as all three law schools still being ranked fell in their positions.
The Indiana legal community is taking precautions and ramping up efforts to stay healthy as the coronavirus spreads. Meanwhile, Faegre Drinker announced Wednesday that it had reopened most of its offices Wednesday, including its Indianapolis location. The firm had closed all 22 of its global offices Tuesday after a person who attend a firm event in Washington, D.C., tested positive for COVID-19.
Newly released data from the American Bar Association shows the bar passage rate for first-time takers is improving at IU Maurer and Notre Dame but slipping at IU McKinney.
While the political climate is being credited with boosting applications to law schools nationally, Indiana’s legal institutions might be immune to the hubbub since they have posted fluctuations but no discernable upward trend in the number of individuals applying for enrollment.
A celebration of life for attorney and Valparaiso Law School professor David Welter, who died unexpectedly Monday, has been scheduled for Friday. Welter, a graduate and longtime faculty member of the northern Indiana law school, was 59.
The support of family and friends for students in law school is not only common for most law students, but also necessary. Law professors and counselors say students need a supportive network to rely on inside and outside of law school to help them master the material, tamp down any discouragement or despair and ultimately become successful attorneys with good mental health.
Merrillville Town Court Judge Gina L. Jones has been appointed to the Lake Superior Court, succeeding retiring Judge John Pera, who retired in June, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Tuesday.
Indiana’s newest attorneys were congratulated on their admission to the bar and welcomed to the practice of law Wednesday with soaring rhetoric and practical advice from their colleagues in the bar and on the bench.