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Legal Director
American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana
Joining the legal profession is something of a tradition in Kenneth Falk’s family. His grandfather, who was born in Europe, became a lawyer in New York City. His father was a patent attorney who for a time served on his local American Civil Liberties Union screening committee.
“I grew up being familiar with aspects of the legal profession,” Falk said. Then during college, he took a semester off to work in a senior center in Manhattan’s Washington Heights. “I recognized that almost everyone coming in had a legal problem,” he recalled. “It made sense to become a lawyer, although I didn’t think it would be in Muncie.”
Indeed, after law school he decided to move away from the big city, decamping from Manhattan to Muncie, where he helped open a branch office for the Legal Services Organization (now Indiana Legal Services). “They were opening offices in Muncie and Bloomington, and I was asked if I had a preference,” Falk recalled. “I’d barely heard of Muncie or Bloomington. I’d barely heard of Indiana. So I said I had no preference and was sent to Muncie.”
Turns out that was just where he needed to be. The office immediately faced a tide of people seeking help with everything from family law issues to welfare questions to income maintenance. Though he left the group to join the ACLU of Indiana in 1996, the basic dynamic didn’t change — lots of desperate people seeking legal help. These days, the Indiana ACLU chapter receives 700 to 800 requests for assistance each month from people who believe their constitutional rights are being threatened, which Falk said is both a project and an accomplishment. “I am proud that I have had a career working with other persons to try to assist people and repair the world to the best of our ability,” he said.
Not surprisingly, Falk hasn’t exactly gotten rich by doing this sort of work. But that’s fine by him. “I always wanted to do something that would put my law degree to good use,” he said. “I married a wonderful person who understood that she was hooking her star to someone who was not going to be making as much money as he could — and that was never, ever an issue. I’ve never looked back.”
Falk also takes solace in the fact that while the issues he’s battled during his career seem just as intractable today as they did when he first arrived in Muncie, so is the desire to help. Falk, who taught at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law as an adjunct professor for more than two decades, saw plenty of students eager for careers in public interest law. “There’s always going to be indigent people who need assistance,” he said. “But I think there are also going to be young lawyers who have abilities, some undoubtedly greater than mine, who are eager to help them.”
In other words, there will be plenty of hands to carry the legal equity banner forward, if or when Falk chooses to hand it off. “I remember years ago that the executive director of Indiana Legal Services told me, ‘One way or another, we’re all fungible,’” he said. “And that’s true. We all have different skills and different approaches, but in the end, the law is bigger than the lawyers who make it their profession.”
Primary focus: Constitutional law. “I have always tried to safeguard people’s rights, and this seemed like a natural way to do it.”
Lesson learned: Starting his practice in Muncie, with its relatively small bar, taught him the importance of civility and collegiality with other attorneys.
Advice: “This is an honorable and essential profession that serves to protect us all and the rights that we have,” Falk said. “However, it must also be protected and safeguarded. You should approach your work as an attorney with this knowledge. Also, don’t take yourself too seriously and laugh as much as possible.”
Challenges in the field: “We live in a time when some in positions of power are actively promoting disrespect for judges and the rule of law,” Falk said. “This erodes the faith that people should and must have in the law and the legal process. Combating this is essential work for every attorney, and all attorneys should be conscious of their necessary role in this.”
10-year-old self: “My 10-year-old self would look at me and say, ‘Wow, you are old.’”
Favorite de-stressors: “I try to keep things in perspective.”•
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