It’s no secret that 2020 has been tough. While it’s our goal year round to make you, IndyBar members, more profitable and productive in your practice, we’re taking extra care during the month of September to show you how much we appreciate you!
The IndyBar Professionalism Committee is currently soliciting nominations for the 2020 IndyBar Professionalism Award (attorney) and IndyBar Silver Gavel Award (judge). We’ll also present the Unsung Hero Award, given to a lawyer who goes above and beyond the call of duty and exhibits the highest level of commitment to others without the expectation of praise or recognition.
As lawyers, many of our relationships are governed by our rules of professional conduct. For the most part, these rules place burdens, limits and duties on us. The judge-lawyer relationship, however, is governed by interlocking rules from both sides.
As 2020 IndyBar President Andy Campbell is off in “trial prep nightmare-land,” he invited me to give an update on Marion Superior Court operations and the new Community Justice Center campus.
Get on board with the local legal community: nominations are being accepted now for positions on the board of directors for both the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Foundation! Nominations of colleagues as well as self-nominations are welcomed.
The focus of the Virtual Ask-a-Lawyer was to provide a place for people to get real help, direction and referrals, especially as the full impact of COVID-19 was shuttering businesses and causing waves of unemployment. To date, since May 2020, more than 100 attorneys have volunteered through the virtual desk and over the telephone to provide answers to more than 1,352 questions.
The world has changed and the world of public education has been forced to change along with it. The reassuring thing for families is that while the world of education has changed, the laws as to what must be provided for children with special needs have not.
Get on board with the local legal community: nominations are being accepted now for positions on the board of directors for both the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Foundation! Nominations of colleagues as well as self-nominations are welcomed.
The strength of our Indianapolis legal community has always been the pipeline of dedicated senior lawyers and law school alumni who invest deeply in our young lawyers to provide them with a guiding light. Your weapon to fight the ill effects of COVID-19 is an iron-willed commitment to mentorship.
Many House members on both sides of the aisle are familiar with local government issues. But Brian Bosma’s exit from lawmaking is significant in terms of the loss of institutional knowledge and history of those issues from the General Assembly’s leadership.
I bet most of you reading this are better at lawyering than teaching. I know I am. Yet, many lawyer parents across the greater Indianapolis community, and all over the country, are finding themselves in the role of teacher this fall as many schools are starting the year in a virtual format or a hybrid in-person and virtual format. As working parents, and especially as lawyers who bill for their time, we are up against some bad math.
The IndyBar is in the process of forming a support group for attorney members experiencing infertility and pregnancy loss. This group will provide a safe, supportive environment for participants, with both peer and facilitator-led sessions.
The unique financial problems occasioned by COVID-19 and the lockdown responses of federal, state and municipal governments draw into sharp focus the fiduciary duties of directors and officers when addressing economic distress for their entities.
Recently, in the case of In re Hitz Restaurant Group (2020 Bankr. LEXIS 1470 (N.D. Ill. June 2, 2020)), the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois-Eastern Division held that a force majeure clause in a lease excused a restaurant tenant from its obligation to pay a portion of post-petition rent.
Named after the Internal Revenue Code section that governs them, Section 529 College Savings Plans (529 Plans) are higher-education savings plan trusts established under section 529(b) of the Internal Revenue Code as “qualified tuition programs.” 529 Plans offer tremendous benefits when planning for educational expenses.
2020. Who would have thought that one year could change so many things? Things we thought were certain, nonnegotiable, and established norms as lawyers were cast aside along with vacation plans, professional sports and pants with buttons. This fall will bring even more uncertainty into our lives as we send our children back to school.
If you are preparing for a WebEx presentation in Indianapolis for a rezoning or variance case, especially one which is contested by Department of Metropolitan Development staff, by significant remonstrance, or both, consider these tips and clarifications.
As we blow out the candles on the virtual “Happy 10th Birthday” cake, the Indiana Appellate Institute continues to do what it does well, especially help first-time or infrequent appellate advocates, while looking for ways to continue to innovate and improve.
2020 has been tough, to say the least. The IndyBar is committed to making your life easier, so we’ve made free CLE through the IndyBar more accessible than ever! IndyBar members can now access all of this year’s Free CLE video replays online at NO additional cost! (That’s a potential savings of over $400!)
The Indianapolis Bar Association is proud to recognize Rayann Knepley of Kids’ Voice of Indiana as the association’s Paralegal of the Year for 2020. We invite you to join the IndyBar in congratulating and celebrating Rayann for her unmatched contributions to the Indianapolis legal community!