Lawyers drive, skydive and tend to hives

Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP attorneys (from left) John Ketcham, Chris Plews and George Plews enjoy beekeeping. (IL file photo)

Some days, it feels like you never leave the office. But we know lawyers are not all work and no play, so we like to highlight the interesting and quirky things you do when you’re off the clock. This year, we introduced you to lawyers who spend their weekends behind the wheel of a race car, a few who willingly jump out of perfectly good airplanes, and a couple who opened their yard to bees in need of a new home.

Muncie attorney John LaRue and Indianapolis lawyer William Batten are professional-level drivers who compete in different circuits of the Sports Car Club of America series. Batten’s interest in racing came after making a New Year’s resolution as an adult to get into the sport. LaRue’s entry into the racing world began when he raced go-karts as a youngster.

Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP partner Curt DeVoe is a chief driving instructor with the Central Indiana Region of the Porsche Club of America. He also competes in the ChumpCar and LeMons series.

Curt DeVoe is chief driving instructor with the Central Indiana Region of the Porsche Club of America. (IL file photo)

Some of DeVoe’s colleagues at Plews get their thrills in the air instead of on the ground. Amy Romig with the firm has made more than 1,300 jumps, one this year with Indiana Lawyer reporter Emily Hinkel. (Yes, we’re that dedicated to accurately reporting the story!) Having that many jumps under her belt means Romig isn’t at all nervous when hurling herself out of a plane 12,000 feet in the air. And she’s just one of eight attorneys at the firm who have skydived, often at the encouragement of Romig.

And in what may be considered the tamest of the hobbies only when compared to their colleagues, George “Corky” Plews and his wife, Chris Plews, became the adoptive parents of fellow attorney John Ketcham’s honeybees when the bees needed a new home. Neither Ketcham nor the Plewses wear beekeeper suits when their around the bees. Getting stung, which they admit has happened a handful of times, doesn’t bother them. And the Plewses’ reward for taking in the 6,000 bees? Delicious honey, which they shared with family and friends.