After 39 years, G. Michael Witte, executive director of the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, is calling it a career — sort of. A new yearlong legal-focused series, Open Conversations, hopes to draw on the power of frank discussion to illuminate issues of race and justice. And with the powerful lobbying interests of two boys from LaPorte, Indiana lawmakers are taking a stand for lemonade.
A surprise gift from a new law firm foundation is helping a re-entry nonprofit reenergize its work. Also, a state senator has introduced legislation that could change juvenile gun laws. But for one family, the focus is on COVID-19 immunity legislation after the family patriarch died from what they allege was nursing home negligence.
As Hoosier legal aid organizations do more with less, a well-known leader in Indiana’s pro bono community has moved from one major law firm to another. Chief Justice Loretta Rush told lawmakers that Indiana courts will hold the line on spending this year, while new statistics from the Supreme Court revealed a big change: In the past five years, there were far fewer child in need of services cases but termination of parental rights filings soared.
As work continues toward completion of the new Indianapolis-Marion County Community Justice Campus, the new towers rising southeast of downtown also mark a reconfiguration of how courts will handle family law and juvenile cases in the future. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is launching a first-of-its kind unit in Indiana that seeks to ensure the integrity of criminal convictions. And as coronavirus topped the news of 2020, many other major legal news stories also played out. Find out which were the most read stories of 2020 on the Indiana Lawyer website.
Trying what a law firm saw as an eight-figure personal injury lawsuit to a successful jury verdict during a pandemic was just one aspect of an unusual recent trial. Women general counsel at three of Indiana’s life sciences giants are helping their companies pivot to meet the new challenges of the global pandemic and positioning their legal departments to be an integral part of addressing social inequities. And the Bayh-Dole Act has contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and supported millions of jobs since it was signed into law 40 years ago. But the landmark legislation now hailed as an engine of innovation and enterprise almost never came to pass.
While the pandemic continues to rage and pharmaceutical makers get closer to developing an effective vaccine, Americans’ willingness to get inoculated has slipped. Battles over the vaccination will probably spill into the workplace, and employers are already starting to consider policies and plans. In light of an increase of relapses and overdose numbers, the Indiana Department of Correction this month announced it would start offering naloxone, an agent used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, to every offender released from a DOC facility. And the Indiana General Assembly is considering taking another step to recognize that heritage through legislation that would uphold the validity of tribal court judgments.
Republican Todd Rokita cruised to victory in the closely watched Indiana Attorney General race as Republicans also made gains in the Indiana Statehouse and in courthouses around the Hoosier State. Pro bono attorneys came to the aid of a grateful client, getting down to business to resolve the financial mess she was left in by her ex-husband. And an adoption attorney is fostering hope with a new docuseries exploring Indiana's foster care system.
With the most partisan vote in modern history closer to a presidential election than any prior confirmation, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judge and Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett ascended to the United States Supreme Court. As Indiana voters go to the polls, they'll be deciding on judges in any number of ways. And as Indiana welcomed 337 new lawyers to the profession, experts say new lawyers and law students are increasingly seeking to make change in their legal careers.
Lawyers who have taken Red Cross disaster deployment training are ready to roll to deliver emergency aid when they get the call. Women law firm equity partners have made slow but steady gains over the past decade, but they see more work ahead to increase diversity. And the deans of Indiana University Maurer and McKinney schools of law are co-chairing a panel weighing the naming of facilities for former president IU David Starr Jordan.
As Hoosiers reacted to the nomination of 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge and Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett to the nation’s highest court, they also fondly recalled the connections shared with the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on her many visits here. And while new laws firms and those that reorganized just before the pandemic juggled numerous pressures, Indiana bankruptcy lawyers say they keep expecting a flood of COVID-related filings that so far has not come.