Welcome to First Impressions, a place for sharing your thought about legal news and issues in Indiana and beyond. I'm your host, Jennifer Nelson, Web editor for Indiana Lawyer. Just like in the courtroom, we encourage everyone to interact with civility.
Recent Blog Posts
Best legal city game snubs Indy
March 18, 2010
Comments(0)Yes, it’s just an entertaining way to put a legal spin on the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament, but I can’t help but be a
little surprised and offended that Indianapolis didn’t make the cut in the Above the Law blog’s “best...
MoreBanning laptops from lectures
March 15, 2010
Comments(0)Could you survive law school without using your laptop in class? There’s a push by some professors to ban laptops from class
because they are distracting students from learning. Students check e-mail, update their Facebook status, or surf the Web
when...
MoreFirms get scam spam
March 10, 2010
Comments(0)If you get a grammatically incorrect and misspelled e-mail from someone asking if you’d represent them in a case, chances
are it’s a scam. Luckily the Indiana attorneys who received these e-mails recognized that right away. In fact, it’s a scam...
MoreSCOTUS on TV
March 9, 2010
Comments(0)The Supreme Court of the United States hearings should be televised, justices should have term limits, and age doesn’t matter
as long as the justice is healthy, say a majority of people polled about the SCOTUS. Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind
released...
MoreDown times in 2009
March 8, 2010
Comments(0)Was 2009 really the worst year for the legal market in the past 50 years? Apparently so, according to a report released earlier
this month analyzing the legal market last year and trends expected for this year. Hildebrandt Baker Robbins consulting...
MoreReporter goes to prison
March 5, 2010
Comments(0)Contributed by IL staff reporter Rebecca Berfanger I’ve driven by the Indianapolis Re-Entry Facility on Indianapolis’ near
east side more times than I can count. Today, I went beyond the barbwire fence of the former women’s prison. While this was...
MoreAnother Ohio firm moves in
March 3, 2010
Comments(0)Let’s begin saying our goodbyes to the name Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman because in about a year, it will be gone from
Indianapolis. Dann Pecar is the latest Indiana firm to merge with an out-of-state firm and lose its name....
MoreNo big recruiting changes
March 1, 2010
Comments(0)Back in January, the National Association for Law Placement issued a report that proposed significant changes to how law firms
recruit, including doing away with rolling-offer deadlines. But NALP has backed off the controversial changes and announced
Friday its provisional timing...
MorePlay discusses torture
February 25, 2010
Comments(0)Submitted by IL Staff reporter Rebecca Berfanger : “Sunlight,” a play that examines both sides of the debate on torture of
detainees, opens tonight at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis. It will be performed through March 20, including post-performance
discussions...
MoreLawyers make bad drivers
February 22, 2010
Comments(0)Hey lawyers and judges, you are really bad drivers. At least, that’s what one auto insurance company says. You are such bad
drivers that you rank No. 1 on insurance.com’s “Top 10 Most Dangerous Drivers by Professions” list. The company...
MoreInfamous civil rights lawyer
February 19, 2010
Comments(4)From IL reporter Rebecca Berfanger: A documentary film about the life and civil rights cases of William Kunstler by his daughters
was well attended at the Indianapolis Museum of Art Thursday night, and I’m happy I was able to be...
MoreAre you running?
February 16, 2010
Comments(0)Sen. Evan Bayh’s surprise announcement he’s not running for re-election quickly spread speculation at the Indiana Statehouse
as to who may run for his seat. While IL reporter Michael Hoskins was there for a committee meeting, he overheard many legislators
asking...
More‘Dawn Johnsen fatigue’
February 15, 2010
Comments(0)Today's post is from IL reporter Rebecca Berfanger: I just Googled an Indiana University Maurer School of Law – Bloomington
professor for what seems like the thousandth time in at least a year. And I’m guessing I’m not the only...
MoreGoing to the ‘Chapel’
February 12, 2010
Comments(0)From IL reporter Rebecca Berfanger: In two separate conversations I’ve had in the past couple weeks with two different women
who are planning weddings – an old friend and a source I just met – both said they wanted to...
MoreBehind the hearing
February 12, 2010
Comments(0)The major snowstorm that pummeled Washington, D.C., this week isn’t the only thing creating a chill in the air. Comments from
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., toward the American Bar Association’s process for evaluating federal judicial nominees
could be described...
MoreOne bar’s rates going down
February 11, 2010
Comments(0)The current economy can make businesses cut fees in hopes of attracting more customers or raise fees to cover increasing costs
and hope it doesn’t drive people away. The American Bar Association took the first approach this week and voted to...
MoreSlavery case re-enacted
February 9, 2010
Comments(0)Today's post is from IL reporter Rebecca Berfanger: Braving the cold and snow, a group of about 15 eighth graders from Indianapolis
Public School’s Cold Spring School 315 participated in a re-enactment of the trial of Polly Strong, a...
MoreBig game delays trial
February 4, 2010
Comments(0)A judge in New Orleans has postponed a jury trial set to begin Monday because some prospective jurors, attorneys, and court
personnel will be heading to Miami to watch the Saints lose in the Super Bowl. Judge Michael Bagneris said “The...
MoreFew women on the bench
February 3, 2010
Comments(0)Women just barely outnumber men in the U.S., and nearly half of law school grads and firm associates are women, yet we still
make up less than a third, and sometimes, less than a tenth of the judges in state or...
MorePants suit attorney back
February 1, 2010
Comments(0)Roy Pearson Jr., famous for his $54 million suit over a lost pair of pants, has some issues and they aren’t just legal ones.
He either craves attention, believes everyone is out to get him, or has issues with reality based...
MoreCalling out justices
January 28, 2010
Comments(3)Anyone watching the State of Union Wednesday night catch the somewhat awkward moment between the president and the U.S. Supreme
Court? Sitting front and center during the speech, the justices were called out for their ruling Jan. 21 that government can’t...
MoreRole playing, gang banging
January 28, 2010
Comments(0)Typical gang activity: fighting opposing gang members, committing crime, and playing Dungeons and Dragons. Wait, what? The
7th Circuit Court of Appeals said so in an opinion it released this week in an inmate’s appeal after his D&D games were
taken...
MoreMoney for nothing?
January 25, 2010
Comments(0)There’s an interesting case playing out in Kentucky involving a dispute over attorney’s fees. Two lawyers, who didn’t work
on the bad-faith claim against a doctor’s insurer, argue they should get a cut of the fees because they originally signed
up...
MoreCommittee observations
January 21, 2010
Comments(0)If I checked my Blackberry, read the news online, generally just didn’t pay attention, or even got up and left during a meeting,
I think that would be rude behavior. But my behavior would be acceptable apparently as a member of...
MoreFirm recruiting changes
January 19, 2010
Comments(0)If the National Association for Law Placement has its way, January and November are going to become very important months
to many law students. NALP released a report this month detailing significant changes to the recruiting process. The biggest
one: Goodbye...
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Court Calendar
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May 28, 2013 The Estate of Richard A. Mayer and Spangler, Jennings & Dougherty, P.C., v. Lax, Inc., and David Lasco - 5/28/13
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June 12, 2013 Northern Assurance Company of America v. Thomson, Inc., et al. - 6/12/13
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June 18, 2013 State of Indiana v. Robert Owens - 6/18/13
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June 18, 2013 Winston K. Wood v. State of Indiana - 6/18/13
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Never heard of remand to another state. How often does that happen?
I highly recommend Deanna and her team of professionals that serve the legal community. Great information and many thanks for sharing.
they are pushing these cases against lawyers too far. thought-crime.
vagueness cannot challenged, so let's write all laws vaguely and throw the constitution out the window.Even if the court is operating under a particular law, if they don't it they will change it to their liking. What a joke!!!
Two convictions becomes one conviction with exactly the same sentence, only it is not clear wheter or not that sentence will be 18 months, 120 months or 138 months. Actually if the guns were in a home, whether or not they were his, he is protected under the 2nd amendment. Jurors need to learn the law and the constitution before judging others. The cour5ts need to do this as well.