Latest News - The Indiana Lawyer

Start Page: Digital evidence pilot program clears preflight checklist

March 31, 2021 | Seth Wilson

The Hamilton County courts have been piloting, in select family law cases, a program for the online submission of trial exhibits through a website called CaseLines, part of Thomson Reuters. Attorneys and their teams can log in to a website, upload their digital exhibits for a hearing and the participants have access to those files for the hearing. The website is one place where the exhibits are stored and all participants can access at the hearing.

Young: Commencement message resounds after speaker’s passing

March 31, 2021 | Ahmed Young

May 2011 was a magical time for me, personally and professionally. I completed all course work and passed exams required to participate in the annual commencement at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. The words from the speaker a decade ago — and his legacy — reverberate to this day.

Benjamin: My dad helped keep politics out of Lake County judicial selection

March 31, 2021

A half-century ago two Indiana legislators, a Democrat from Gary and a Republican from Kokomo, set forth to improve our courts. The Democrat was my father, Adam Benjamin Jr. The Republican was Elwood “Bud” Hillis. The Lake Superior Court selects judges on merit because of their efforts.

Trimble: COVID shows firms need to engage in succession planning

March 31, 2021 | John Trimble

As the pandemic forced attorneys to work from remote locations, they have seen how well they could do it. They and their spouses have had a glimpse of a different, slower lifestyle, and it has appealed to them. For many, retirement, which was previously just a distant concept, has grown more realistic. At a minimum, a significant number of my lawyer friends have decided to work fewer hours, and they are confident that they are ready to slow down.

Intentional misclassification of construction workers causing concern

March 31, 2021 | Katie Stancombe

Workers on construction sites across Indiana can be found nailing plywall from atop scaffolds, scaling roofs or painting newly built homes. But what isn’t evident is whether those workers are part of a shady trend construction industry experts say is a serious concern — payroll tax fraud.

As in-person trials resume, Marion County courts struggle to get enough jurors to respond to summonses

March 31, 2021 | Olivia Covington

Following a “drastic” move by the Indiana Supreme Court suspending in-person jury trials from mid-December to March 1, courts across Indiana are attempting to resume the hallmark proceedings of the American judicial system. But in Marion County, finding enough jurors to hold those proceedings has proven difficult.

ISBA giving attorneys new option for health insurance

March 31, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

The Indiana State Bar Association rolled out a long-awaited health plan that bar association leaders believe will provide an affordable alternative, especially to small- and medium-size firms across the state.

IndyBar: Bench Bar 2021: Reconnect, Refine and Refresh

March 31, 2021 | From IndyBar

After a year apart from our friends, colleagues and mentors, the IndyBar is, as always, on the forefront of creating dynamic new content while adapting to new trends in technology and the law. To that end, we have some exciting news: We will be revamping the IndyBar’s flagship event: the Bench Bar Conference.

Adams and Engel: Planning considerations for IRC Section 1031 exchanges

March 31, 2021

Many commercial real estate owners, even those who previously did not intend to sell, are considering selling their real estate to take advantage of current market conditions. With transactions seemingly becoming quicker each year, it is important for owners to consider many factors when preparing to sell their real estate, including executing an Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1031 exchange.

DTCI: Providing Instructions Under the IPLA

March 31, 2021 | From DTCI

The Indiana Product Liability Act (IPLA) can prove confusing for litigants unfamiliar with its many nuances. While the burden of proving duty, breach, causation, and damages rests with the plaintiff in a civil action, in practice, defense attorneys are often tasked with extricating a defendant that has no duty of care with respect to the specific claims brought against it.

Hammerle On … “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Crip Camp” and “Sound of Metal”

March 31, 2021 | Robert Hammerle

Movie reviewer Robert Hammerle shares his takes on three Oscar-nominated films: “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Crip Camp” and “Sound of Metal”.

Indiana Court Decisions – March 11-24, 2021

March 31, 2021

Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.

IndyBar Board Approves Racial Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission Report and Recommendations

March 31, 2021 | From IndyBar

The Indianapolis Bar Association recognizes that equality, diversity and inclusion impact all aspects of work among members of the IndyBar, within the practice of law and within the communities where we live and work. The association, through its actions and those of its members, seeks to be instrumental in creating a more equitable, diverse and inclusive society.

Pebworth and Sausser: Change, opportunity in post-pandemic real estate market

March 31, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how commercial real estate will be developed, built and used. Prudent real estate owners, developers, property managers and builders (and the lawyers who represent them) need to recognize this changed environment and proceed accordingly.

IndyBar: IBF Eyes (Safe) Opportunities for Return to Some Kind of Normal

March 31, 2021 | From IndyBar

This year, with the road before us full of promise, the Indianapolis Bar Foundation is working hard to provide safe, exciting opportunities to come back together, to come back downtown and to grab hold of some of that hope that has escaped us for the past year.

Indiana asks SCOTUS to review mature-minors abortion law a second time

March 30, 2021 | Olivia Covington

A case challenging an Indiana abortion law that requires “mature minors” to notify their parents before getting an abortion is back before the United States Supreme Court, with the state of Indiana asking the justices to take the case to provide clarity on a legal issue that it says caused the 7^th Circuit to “(throw) up its hands in frustration.”

Divided COA flushes attorney fees, equipment costs in sewer judgment

March 30, 2021 | Dave Stafford

Northern Indiana property owners were relieved of the bulk of a court order requiring them to pay more than $48,000 to connect to a sewer system, including a ruling on appeal voiding an award of more than $20,000 in attorney fees to the sewer district.

Hefty sentence, convictions upheld for accomplice in Avon pharmacy robbery

March 30, 2021 | Katie Stancombe

A man considered to be an accomplice of an armed pharmacy robber could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday that his decades-long sentence was inappropriate.

Indiana law schools are up, down, unchanged in national rankings

March 30, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

The U.S. News & World Report 2022 law school rankings were released today and the performance of Indiana’s three laws schools can be summarized as follows: one rose in the rankings, one declined, and one stayed just where it was.

COA majority holds Clark Co. REMC breached insurance contract, but dissent finds ‘logical fallacy’

March 30, 2021 | Olivia Covington

A local utility breached its contract with its former directors when it revoked their health insurance coverage, a majority of the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled. A dissenting judge, however, found that the majority engaged in a “logical fallacy” in holding that the utility was obligated to continue providing coverage to the plaintiffs.

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