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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now1970 was unforgettable. Apollo 13 went to the moon (and came back to Earth), the Boeing 747 jumbo jet made its first commercial passenger trip to London from New York and Paul McCartney announced that the Beatles had disbanded. 2020 will certainly be just as (if not more) memorable, but, even so, there are accomplishments we can fondly look back on as we close out the year.
Filled with tragedy, joy, loss and happiness, events of 50 years ago remain clear in the minds of colleagues who have been fortunate enough to have practiced law since then. We had the chance to sit down with a few of them to gain insight to just some of the many things that have changed.
See more online! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to fit all our interviews in this article. To see responses from Aline Anderson, Robert Epstein and John McNett, go to indybar.org/2020milestone.
Samuel “Chic” Born
Can you recall one particularly funny or interesting moment from your career in law?
There were a number of funny moments in my experience, but the most dramatic may have occurred as part of a labor dispute. I was a fairly new lawyer when I was dispatched to the situs of a bitter labor dispute in a medium-sized Indiana county seat. I went to the facility only to find it was “surrounded” by about 600 employees. So, I parked my car, grabbed my briefcase and approached the surrounded facility. Clearly, these are not the actions of an experienced lawyer.
Confronted by 25 or so pickets, I stood my ground but expected mayhem. One of the picketers — later, I learned he was a union vice president — said “let him go, he’s the company lawyer.” I got into the plant, called a county judge who came to the facility and issued an injunction limiting the number and placement of picketers. The best part of the story was yet to come.
When I left the facility, two black-clad men came to my car just as I arrived. They demanded to know what I was doing there in “front of union headquarters.” The local union president owned the bar. I identified myself and they showed me FBI credentials. The facility produced defense supplies under contract to the US military. They went over my vehicle with a fine-tooth comb, declared it “clear” and suggested I use a different parking place in the future. I did.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement thus far?
I was lucky enough to have been elected president of the Indianapolis Bar Association and later the Indiana State Bar Association. I am proud of those experiences.
When and where were you happiest in your life?
My daughter Holly was an Rh baby before Rho-Gam was available to the public. She had several blood transfusions shortly after birth. They saved her and she has four children, one of whom is a Navy pilot in the western Pacific. I have never been happier than when the doctor said, “she’s going to make it.”
Larry Champion
Can you recall one particularly funny or interesting moment from your career in law?
There were many funny moments the past 50 years. But some of the more “interesting moments” were when I would occasionally get gently (and sometimes not so gently) admonished by a judge for something I did or did not do.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement thus far?
I jokingly tell my friends that my greatness achievements were never getting disciplined, disbarred, or indicted. But seriously, I consider my greatest achievement is being a founding board member of Family Promise of Hendricks County. Family Promise serves homeless and near-homeless families. They find affordable housing, employment, healthcare, transportation, financial advice, child daycare and addiction services. Their main goal is to help families regain and maintain stability in their lives and not fall back into homelessness.
When and where were you happiest in your life?
My happiness, thus far, has been seeing in son graduate as an electrical engineer from Purdue, my older daughter graduate from IU Medical School and become a pediatrician, my younger daughter with a master’s degree from IU in public health, and my wife, a very successful researcher at IU School of Nursing.•
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