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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIt’s grown in size from 80 to more than 300, moved to different locations and has evolved into the premier event for education and networking for central Indiana attorneys, but the mission of the Bench Bar Conference has remained the same for the past 20 years—to promote collegiality and build positive relationships among practitioners in the Indy legal community.
On June 13 to June 15, lawyers, judges and even law students gathered once again in Louisville, Ky., for the Bench Bar Conference. From education to networking, the event had it all, serving as a fitting celebration of the event’s 20th anniversary.
To check out even more photos from Bench Bar 2013, visit the IndyBar Facebook page at www.facebook.com/indybar.
The 20th annual Bench Bar Conference was ably chaired by Hon. Bob Altice and Hon. Annie Christ-Garcia, both of the Marion Superior Court.
Hon. Jane Magnus Stinson, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana; Monica Foster, Executive Director of the Federal Defender Agency; Mark Inman, Attorney at Law and Steve Debrota, United States Attorney’s Office, discuss hot topics in federal law Friday morning. 
Attendees enjoyed programming in four different tracks—civil and trial skills, criminal law, family law and, for the first time, in-house counsel. James Bell of Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP is shown here highlighting the potential perils of social media use by attorneys. Programming also included other hot topics like the legalization of medicinal marijuana, workplace violence and cyber threats, and the newly-adopted criminal code.
Tom Davis, Frost Brown Todd LLC, led attendees down Bench Bar memory lane, recalling some memorable (and some infamous) Bench Bar moments over the past 20 years. TD brought about the first Bench Bar Conference during his IndyBar presidency in 1993.
Alicia Gooden, The Mediation Group LLC; Natalie Snyder, Cross Pennamped Woolsey & Glazier P.C.; Eric Engebretson, Whitham Hebenstreit & Zubek; Jamy Engebretson and Kathy Harmon, Mallor Grodner LLP enjoy Friday’s cocktail reception.
Friday was closed out by a sold-out Trivia Night to benefit the Indianapolis Bar Foundation. Perhaps not surprisingly, lawyers and judges brought their competitive spirit, sparring with each other (and sometimes with hosts James Bell and Adam Christensen), but ultimately enjoying a fun evening to benefit a great cause.
Keynote speaker Craig Zablocki had attendees laughing at Friday’s luncheon, where he urged them to “stop being nouns and start being verbs.”Please enable JavaScript to view this content.