DTCI: Young Lawyers Step Up
The September community service event at Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana was hosted by the Young Lawyers Committees of DTCI and ITLA. Six DTCI members and two ITLA members attended.
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Former bar exam leader offers tips as Indiana considers changes
As the Indiana legal profession re-evaluates its bar exam in light of slumping pass rates, a leader in bar examinations and bar admissions offered some insight into testing and provided some advice, as well as some warnings, about making changes.
IndyBar: A Nod to Professionalism: Julia Carpenter
The IndyBar will be awarding the Professionalism Award to Julia A. Carpenter, a partner at Krieg DeVault LLP and chair of the firm’s Commercial and Real Estate Lending Practice Group.
Web Exclusive: ILS pilot guides pro se parents in child support
A pilot partnership between Indiana Legal Services and a Tippecanoe County court is providing in-court assistance to pro se litigants in divorce cases. Attorneys sit down with litigants behind closed doors, gather the necessary child-support information, fill out the paperwork and send parents back into the courtroom.
IndyBar: Southern District of Indiana, We Have a Problem
In the one-year period ending Sept. 30, 2019, there were 4,496 motions for time filed in civil cases. In at least half of these motions, the request fails to comply with three important and relevant Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; Rules 1, 6 and 16.
‘Incredibly lucky breaks’: Massa recalls going from journalist to justice
Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Massa didn’t follow a traditional path into the law, but he says a series of “incredibly lucky breaks” propelled him forward in the profession.
Help renewed for Hoosiers facing loss of their home
The Indiana Supreme Court is working to help troubled homebuyers, and possibly prevent another flood of empty houses, by relaunching the Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance Project. A $115,000 grant from the Indiana Bar Foundation will provide funding to pay for facilitators to work with borrowers and lenders to try to get them to reach an agreement that will avert a foreclosure.
Indiana Court Decisions – Oct. 24–Nov. 6, 2019
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
DTCI: Using Misuse as a Defense
Indiana’s state and federal courts have long held that the incurred risk and product alteration defenses under Indiana’s Product Liability Act (IPLA) constitute “complete defenses.” But applying the misuse doctrine, particularly as a complete defense, is nuanced and requires a more thorough understanding of Campbell Hausfeld/Scott Fetzer v. Johnson and related law than the headlines might suggest.
Trimble: Rainmaking 201: Developing your substantive credentials
In this article we will look at how to develop your substantive credentials. It is not enough these days to be smart and have an honest face. You need to have publicly available credentials so that a prospective client can trust that you will know how to handle their problem.
Van Tyle: Working with vulnerable immigrant populations amid change
For good or for bad, immigration policy can often change day-to-day. Rules and regulations recently have been introduced, only to be temporarily halted by injunction days before implementation.
Durham: Preparing H-1B visa petitions in light of the culture of ‘no’
The H-1B may be one of the most well-known, and perhaps most desired, temporary employment visa classifications sought by US employers and foreign national students and professionals. Unfortunately for employers, a culture of “no” has taken hold at USCIS, risking employers’ ability to use the H-1B visa to fill critical positions and retain key foreign national employees.
Stafford: Justices can’t kick Indiana’s civil forfeiture addiction
The term “excessive fine” is understandable. Unless you are a member of the Indiana Supreme Court. Then, in the context of civil asset forfeiture, the term becomes an enigma to be parsed in three dozen pages of ridiculous legal logic that even one of the five justices confessed he could not comprehend.
Hammerle On …
Movie reviewer Bob Hammerle had high praise for both “Jojo Rabbit” and “Harriet.”
DTCI: Limited Recovery for the Uninsured Plaintiff
The law limits an uninsured person’s recovery to economic damages when an insured driver is at fault. Insurance companies are actually prohibited from paying noneconomic damages to uninsured claimants who have had a financial responsibility citation within the previous five years.
Parrish: Students find clerkships in smaller counties rewarding
This summer’s Rural Justice Initiativesought to expose students who are committed to public service to different facets of rural and smaller-city practice while helping trial court judges with their heavy workloads in counties where that help is needed most. The goal was to underscore to students the benefits of clerking after graduation, to help improve access to courts and expand legal services, and to inspire some students to consider pursuing careers in rural Indiana.
IndyBar: Honor Excellence, Part Two: Legal Community Stars to Receive Recognition Award
Join us on Nov. 19 at Meridian Hills Country Club as we honor just a handful of the many lawyers, judges, students and more who’ve made their mark in 2019.
Good growth? Lawyer population grows, but supply may outpace demand
According to the ABA’s National Lawyer Population Survey, the number of active lawyers nationwide grew by 14.5% in the last decade, up from 1,180,386 in 2009 to 1,352,027 in 2019. The number of Indiana lawyers likewise grew 10.2%, increasing from 14,379 to 15,845.
IndyBar: Judge Heather Welch Honored, Shares Hope for the Future of Women in the Law
The IndyBar Women and the Law Division proudly recognized Judge Heather Welch of the Marion Superior Court as the recipient of this year’s Antoinette Dakin Leach Award honoring a trailblazing woman in the legal profession.
Through the eyes of an immigrant
Mohamed Arafa has called Indianapolis his home since 2009, when he moved here to pursue a Doctor of Juridical Science degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Now an adjunct professor at IU McKinney, Arafa still sees America through the eyes of an immigrant.