Bar Crawl is Indiana Lawyer’s section highlighting bar association news around the state. The IL strives to include bar association news and trends in its regular stories, and we would like to include more news from specialty and county bars. If you’d like to submit an update about your bar association or a photo from an event your bar association has hosted, or if you have questions about having your bar association news included in the newspaper, please send it to Jenny Montgomery at jmontgomery@ibj.com, along with contact information for any follow-up questions at least two weeks in advance of the issue date.

Lake County Bar hosts Law Day

On April 29, eighth-grade classrooms throughout Lake County will host volunteer lawyers, judges, and law professors for presentations on Law Day 2011: “The Legacy of John Adams, A Government of Laws, not Men.” The Young Lawyers Section of the Lake County Bar Association will bring this presentation and discussion directly to the classrooms of eighth-grade students in Lake County, and will provide those students with an opportunity to share their own understanding of John Adams’ legacy through the Law Day 2011 essay contest.

The goal of the presentation is to help eighth-grade students become more aware of the pivotal role that John Adams played in the founding of the United States, and later as our nation’s second president. John Adams, the first “lawyer-president” of the United States, was an important influence in the development of the rule of law in this country. Through his defense of those accused in the Boston Massacre, Adams instilled the principle that all accused of a crime are entitled to a competent defense.

The essay contest is open to all Lake County eighth-graders. Entrants will select from a list of provided essay topics addressing the Law Day theme and write an essay of 250 words or less. Two winners will be chosen, one boy and one girl. The winners will each receive an award of $250.

For more information, contact Benjamin Fryman at bdf@sftlawyers.com.

Indy Bar annual appellate meeting

The Indianapolis Bar Association will host the Appellate Practice Section annual meeting on May 17, preceded by a cocktail reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the IBA building, 135 N. Pennsylvania St., Suite 1500, Indianapolis. The event is free for Appellate Practice Section members. Other bar association members may attend for a fee of $25. Registration information is available on the IBA website: http://www.indybar.org/.

State Bar offers solo conference

On May 10, the Indiana State Bar Association will host “Suddenly Solo: How to Launch a Successful Practice.”

Reid Trautz, a nationally recognized speaker, will cover practical topics on building a client base, what every solo must know to avoid failure, managing the practice ethically, and setting and collecting fees. Local bar members will also talk about the nuts and bolts of solo practice, and the one-day conference will include a panel discussion on ethical considerations.

The event is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the ICLEF Conference Facility, 230 E. Ohio St., Indianapolis. Registration information and conference agenda is available on the ISBA website: http://www.inbar.org/.•