When siblings can’t see eye-to-eye about how to care for their aging parents, families sometimes end up settling disputes in courtrooms. But elder care mediation can help families resolve conflicts before they become matters for litigation, if only more people knew about and used this option.

Expecting the unexpected is valuable mediation skill.

Some Indiana attorneys think this new first-to-file process will create a race to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in order to obtain patent protection first.

Patent attorneys wonder who will benefit from new process.

New Albany attorney Derrick Wilson is frequently in the courtroom, and when he needs to check on a fact quickly, he turns to his trusty smartphone.

The litigation technique is rare in Indiana.

Indiana Supreme Court case examines construction manager's liability.

On Oct. 1, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration will begin enforcing fall protection plans for residential contractors. The regulations have long applied to commercial construction, but this year marks the first that OSHA will begin requiring residential contractors to exercise the same level of caution when employees are working more than six feet above the ground.

The non-profit American Pet Products Association estimates that this year, Americans will spend $50.84 billion on their pets – not surprising, considering the ever-increasing variety of treats, toys, and services for animals. But what happens to these pampered pets after their owners die? Are they consigned to a life of off-brand food? Forced to take up residence in a cramped kennel?

In June, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, affirmed the finding of a workers’ compensation judge who ruled that a man whose wife died of a pulmonary embolism while working from home was entitled to workers’ compensation survivor benefits. In Renner v. AT&T, No. A-2393-10T3, a doctor admitted that other factors – including obesity – may have been risk factors for developing the fatal blood clot.

Hailstorm damages more than property, resulting in $14.5 million defamation verdict against the insurer.

Surveying social media is becoming more common in trial preparation.

In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard arguments in a case that raises fundamental questions about the patentability of human genes. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take on a patent case in which the central issue is the patentability of a medical process. Both cases could have far-reaching effects – in medicine, in law, and in academia.

Putting a video on YouTube and embedding that video onto another site could be all it takes to commit a felony under a statutory amendment before the U.S. Senate.

Bloomington attorney Mike Phelps was a successful defender for insurance companies for nine years.  But a personal injury case that he won on behalf of the defendant caused him to question whether he was ready for a change.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the Northern District of Indiana was essentially creating a built-in appeal issue on ineffective assistance of counsel, and it called out a senior judge for violating a man’s Sixth Amendment right to choose his own lawyer.

Time is money. Money makes the world go ’round. So what is so powerful that it can motivate busy lawyers to give up both? Perhaps it is the realization that with a small donation of each, they have the power to help alleviate hunger among children and families in central Indiana.

Born between 1946 and 1964, baby boomers are not like generations that came before them with regard to estate-planning needs. Many of them are living longer and will be working longer – some by choice and others because the value of their retirement accounts has plunged in recent years. As they look toward their future, the boomers’ top concerns are asset protection and paying for long-term care, although each person may have a different approach about how to accomplish those goals.

When it comes to workplace injury, one often overlooked and potentially devastating injury is hearing loss resulting from high noise levels in a workplace.

An Indiana lawmaker wants to explore whether the state should create its own patent law, focusing on specific business method processes that aren’t covered by the federal patent system.

As a contentious immigration law that went into effect in Arizona last summer continues to be challenged and further changes are being considered by Arizona lawmakers, similar bills at the state and local level, including one in the Indiana Statehouse, have been gaining traction.

When attorney John Kirkwood sees a garbage dump, his mind not only starts wandering toward the renewable energy that could be produced at that site but also an expanding field of law that’s drawing more lawyers into the environmental fold.

A number of bills with environmental impact have been introduced in both houses of the Indiana Legislature for 2011.

A settlement is the quicker resolution. A trial is the longer resolution. How the initial give and take between attorneys determines what happens.

A case before the Indiana Court of Appeals calls into question the constitutionality of the state’s new child support guidelines, challenging the revisions that last year altered the payment scheme for high-income earners and raised the ceiling on child support obligations.