Web Exclusive: Legal clinic offers education series through Facebook
When in-person legal education events became virtually impossible during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic chose to go virtual.
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178 Hoosier law firms received PPP money
Indiana law firms are included among the thousands of Hoosier businesses and nonprofits that have received money through the federal Paycheck Protection Program according to data released Monday by the U.S. Small Business Administration. We have the recipients in a searchable database.
Web Exclusive: Legislative study panels may be remote; emergency planning is focus
Changes could be coming to the way Indiana legislators convene this summer, as teleconferencing and virtual meetings become more commonplace in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Family ties: Reunification celebration spotlights families who achieve stability
Although many may be skeptical of parents whose children are removed from their care, statistics show that nearly 67% of Hoosier youths exit foster care and are successfully reunited with their moms and dads. Those stories of resilience inspired the Marion Superior Court Juvenile Division and the Marion County Public Defender Agency to celebrate National Reunification Month for the first time in Indiana.
New territory: State courts prepare for return of jury trials
As Hoosier trial courts prepare for the return of in-person proceedings with COVID-19 precautions, many unanswered questions remain about the best practices for safely conducting jury trials.
Cost transparency efforts advance in medicine
The Trump administration won a court ruling last month upholding its plan to require insurers and hospitals to disclose prices for common tests and procedures in a bid to promote competition and push down costs. The federal court decision comes as Indiana prepares to enact its own health care price transparency legislation next year.
Web Exclusive: Attorney’s restoration brings river house back to life
Before she even saw the house at auction, Beverly Corn firmly put her foot down with a resounding no. “I kept saying, ‘I’m not doing it. I don’t know what donkey you think is going to drag me into this, I’m not doing it,’” Corn said. But that was two years ago, before the newly christened Riparian House in her childhood hometown came back to life with her help.
Economic excitement: Immigration law firm plans to boost businesses, communities with foreign investors
Marco Moreno was introduced to the idea of economic development by watching a rundown, forgotten neighborhood in Indianapolis get a second chance. He came to the Circle City to study law and was intrigued by the neighborhood redevelopment work. A few years later, his interest was reignited when he learned how regional centers were boosting international funding for projects designed to grow businesses and help communities in the United States. Now the immigration attorney is running a unique regional center in Indianapolis.
New laws overrule court rulings
Sometimes you lose the battle but win the war. That happened for at least two Indiana lawyers this year. While their clients lost in court, the results of their cases so struck a nerve that the Indiana General Assembly reacted, passing legislation that enshrined into law relief lawyers and their clients fought for.
Saying goodbye: Baker to retire after more than 40 years as a judge
It wasn’t quite the retirement he expected. With COVID-19 forcing most of the population to work from home, Court of Appeals Judge John Baker quietly visited the Indiana Statehouse in early June to pack up his chambers. Though he won’t officially retire until July 31, he decided to close out his Indianapolis office early, without the usual pomp and circumstance of a sendoff. “I wanted to work from home,” Baker said with a laugh, “but I didn’t mean for everyone else in the world to have to do it.”
Sharply divided Supreme Court sides with smartphone owner in self-incrimination case
A harshly split Indiana Supreme Court has ruled 3-2 in favor of a woman who was found in contempt for refusing to unlock her smart phone in a criminal investigation. A majority of the high court reversed the contempt order, holding in a landmark ruling that forcing her to unlock her iPhone would violate her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Indy Lawyers for Black Lives’ ‘call to action’ brings solidarity
Eyes and ears of those gathered on the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law lawn Friday were trained on members of the Indianapolis legal community calling for action to push for racial equality.
Lawsuit challenges IMPD actions against protesters
Indy 10 Black Lives Matter and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana have sued the city of Indianapolis, seeking to end the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s use of chemical weapons and projectiles against protesters.
Valpo fighting donor suit over law school contribution valued at $1.4M
After recently shuttering its 140-year-old law school, Valparaiso University is going on the offensive to keep a donor from reclaiming a gift worth more than a million dollars that was made to support the legal education program.
Protests turn to rage
Peaceful protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd on the last weekend in May in downtown Indianapolis turned violent with police launching tear gas and protesters vandalizing and destroying businesses. Windows were shattered, stores were looted, fires were set and graffiti was spray-painted everywhere. Protests took place across the state including in Evansville, Jeffersonville Fort Wayne, Hammond, Michigan City, South Bend, and Lafayette.
Attorneys despair, but see reason for anger in the streets
Following a weekend of violent protests in Indianapolis that damaged many downtown businesses, attorney Maurice Scott of Scott Legal & Consulting cautioned against getting distracted by bricks and mortar. “The focus should not be on the property damage,” Scott said. “The focus should be on the people who are not being heard, not being seen and not being part of the decision-making process.”
Helping legal aid: ILAS has full agenda to raise money, build its identity
Even as Indianapolis Legal Aid Society has been successful at bringing in more money from grants and private donors in recent years, the nonprofit is still facing an identity crisis with people getting confused about its name as well as the services it provides. The new chair of the nonprofit’s board of directors is launching an effort to clear the confusion and grow the contributions.
Web Exclusive: Retired attorney’s presidential button collection tops 1,000 pins
Retired Krieg DeVault partner Calvin Bellamy remembers exactly when he got his first presidential pin. “I know specifically – 1956. My father ran Memorial Day parades in Hammond for many years,” he recalled. That day sparked a fascination and hobby that Bellamy has cherished for the past 64 years.
Keeping the beat in tough times: Schultz takes helm as ITLA president
New Indiana Trial Lawyers Association President Fred Schultz is looking at a challenging year ahead but seeing opportunities. The group’s most recent challenge was organizing a gathering for a key annual event last month in light of social distancing due to COVID-19.
Indianapolis police, protesters march together; Hogsett extends curfew
Police and protesters negotiated a truce and walked together on Meridian Street on Monday night following a tense standoff that lasted about 30 minutes near the Governor’s Residence on Meridian Street.