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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowLegal professionals from across the state gathered at the Indiana Roof Ballroom on May 29 for The Indiana Lawyer’s 2025 Leadership in Law awards ceremony.
The annual event honors up-and-coming and seasoned legal professionals and legal support staff for their work in shaping the legal profession in the Hoosier state.
Highlights from the event included greetings from Karen Bravo and Christiana Ochoa, deans of the Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, respectively. The two law schools were the presenting sponsors of the Leadership in Law event and Taft was the underwriting sponsor
Several alumni of the schools were honored at this year’s ceremony.
“The individuals that are being honored this morning have distinguished themselves not only through professional success but also in their steadfast commitment to justice, to their communities, and to ethical leadership, and those are really commendable efforts, and I’m so happy that we have an opportunity to recognize them,” Ochoa said.
Bravo added: “I’ve always been proud to be an attorney, incredible that I’m here as the dean of the Robert H. McKinney School of Law with the ability to serve in legal education, which is even more important than it has ever been.”
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Tom Froehle, partner and chair emeritus at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Froehle’s work includes some of the largest economic development projects in Indiana over the past three decades, including Lucas Oil Stadium, the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, and the Honda assembly plant in Greensburg.
During his speech, he stressed the importance of building relationships in a time when isolation and independence are normalized and praised the community of lawyers across Indiana who value connection in their careers.
“I rarely hear from a person, young or old, who doesn’t tell me how much they appreciate real interaction with people, so we all need to work harder at developing and strengthening our relationships,” Froehle said. “That means being intentional about getting to know others in our community, and for those of us who already have relationships and know the bar and the community, we can do more to help our younger lawyers get connected.”
He emphasized a “pay it forward” mentality among experienced lawyers to support younger lawyers through mentorship and community.
In total, 37 attorneys and legal staffers were honored at this year’s ceremony.
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