Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals presented his final State of the Circuit address during the Circuit conference this month in Indianapolis, describing the federal appellate court for Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin as perhaps the nation’s most industrious.

Describing the immediate impact changes in judicial budgets have on court staff, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts used part of his address to the 7th Circuit Bar to highlight the fiscal constraints judges and courts are facing today.

Former Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar told members of the federal judiciary May 6 that his support of President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court appointees, opposed by many in his party, may have carried the greatest political cost of any decisions during his 36 years in the Senate.

Here are some highlights from the recent 7th Circuit Bar and Judicial Conference in Indianapolis.

Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts used part of his address to the 7th Circuit to highlight the fiscal constraints judges and courts are facing today.

United States Chief Justice John G. Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and former Sen. Richard G. Lugar are featured speakers at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the 7th Circuit Bar Association and Judicial Conference opening Sunday in Indianapolis.

Each year, the 7th Circuit Bar Association honors members of the legal profession for their pro bono and public service work who are from the host state of the association’s annual meeting. Indiana is hosting the meeting May 5-7 in Indianapolis.

The first year of a federal e-discovery program is now complete in the 7th Circuit, and despite its success one clear message sets the stage for how the pilot project moves forward: More Indiana judges and attorneys need to step up and get involved.

This year's 7th Circuit Bar Association and Judicial Conference for the 7th Circuit featured a more historic tone because of the high-profile roster of legal community leaders who attended, as well as offering tidbits about how the Indianapolis federal courthouse will soon be going green, how the state's Southern District is hoping for a new full-time magistrate, and a call to action for Hoosier judges and attorneys to get more involved in a new e-discovery program under way.

The first phase of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals' Electronic Discovery Pilot Program kicks off Thursday.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has kept up with a trend of publishing more written opinions than any other federal court, and one of the most significant happenings in the past year is the recent resurrection of inviting lower trial judges to sit by designation on appeals panels.

United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Rev. David Link, Dean Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame School of Law, are just two of the speakers at this year's Judicial Conference of the 7th Circuit and the annual meeting of the 7th Circuit Bar Association in Indianapolis.

The 7th Circuit Bar Association is celebrating the Lincoln bicentennial with a one-day symposium in Chicago open to the public. Those who can't make it to Chicago will be able to watch it from Indianapolis.