The Marion County Bar Association (MCBA) has invested significant time, thought and resources in 2019 to ensure we are mastering “small things in a great way.” Much of the work goes unseen, but these efforts represent fundamental building blocks integral to enhancing the MCBA’s reach and impact. We believe this approach is a proven formula for sustained relevance and long-term success.
I’ve been a public defender since I graduated from law school, and I have found criminal law attorneys especially collegial and close-knit. I was interested in hearing another attorney’s perspective on the criminal law community and wanted to speak with someone who had practiced both as a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. Attorney Katie Jackson-Lindsay kindly answered some questions for me.
Recognition Awards, Day of Giving and Trivia Night are all upcoming events on the calendar for the Indianapolis Bar Association and Indianapolis Bar Foundation.
On November 14, join us as we gather in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom from 3 to 4:30 p.m. for the IndyBar HEAL (Helping Enrich Attorneys’ Lives) Committee’s fourth annual Celebration of Life & Career. Each year, this memorial service gives us an opportunity to honor the lives and careers of local attorneys, judges and paralegals who passed away in the previous year.
Instead of fearing pro bono reporting the next time it comes around, look at it as a challenge or reminder to give yourself fuller life experiences through the service areas of poverty law, civil rights, charitable organization representation or administration of justice.
Member Appreciation Month isn’t over yet! Take a look below to see what we’ve got going on for the rest of the month. Get more details at indybar.org/loveourmembers.
This fall, IndyBar members will be honored for their contributions to our legal community. The Indianapolis legal community is fortunate to be home to many talented, dedicated professionals, and we need your help in identifying our colleagues who went above and beyond this past year!
For the past 30 years, I have always looked forward to my haircut because of the man who cuts my hair. Working on the ground floor of our downtown office building for more than 30 years, Winston is a man who possesses a passion and skill for identifying the positive meaning to be extracted from the bumps and bruises we all experience.
Low-income individuals are more likely to die younger and without wills or advance directives in place — but you can help! Attorneys, paralegals and law students are needed as volunteers to do intake, conduct private legal consultations with qualified applicants, draft paperwork and witness document signing. Estate planning attorneys are needed but non-probate-savvy attorneys will also be put to good use. Have a notary license? You’re needed too!
Two attorneys who have participated in the program, Bianca Black and Matt Dodson, recently reflected on their experiences as volunteers for Ask a Lawyer.
Each year, the IndyBar offers hundreds of educational programs, social events and opportunities for community involvement, all while introducing new resources and services to serve members of the legal profession. None of these important contributions would be possible without the work of many lawyers, paralegals and law students “behind the scenes” on section and division executive committees.
Space limitations for this column will not allow all the details of our adventure in adopting Eva and in being clients of a Kenyan lawyer, but the entire experience helped me better understand how our clients feel when they are battling serious problems and engage us for guidance and resolution.
Don’t have much time, but want to lend a hand? We have two opportunities for you to give back to our community for just two hours only.
The Center for Victim and Human Rights (CVHR) has been named the 2019 recipient of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation’s Impact Fund grant of $35,000. CVHR will use the funding to create the Pro Bono Attorney Project (PBAP) for Marion County-area attorneys to provide limited-scope advice and counsel to pro se victims filing a petition for a protective order.
From divorce, custody, parenting time and guardianships to grandparent rights, family law can be very messy and emotionally draining. When I tell people what I do for a living, the most frequent responses are something along the lines of, “oh, I don’t think I could do that,” or “that must be very difficult.” Typically, however, my opposing counsel is not difficult, exhausting, or otherwise adding fuel to the fire.
The spirit of Antoinette Dakin Leach lives on through each award winner including this year’s recipient, Judge Heather Welch of the Marion Superior Court. She exemplifies the definition of a trailblazer in the legal profession, as she was recently elected to lead Marion Superior Court’s first all-female Executive Committee.
It’s our passion at the IndyBar to help you demonstrate greater productivity, greater profitability, and greater purpose in the legal profession. That’s why we’re taking the entire month of September to show just how much we appreciate YOU.
The nomination period for IndyBar’s 2020 Board of Directors closes this Friday, Aug. 23, and it’s up to you to help determine the future of your local bar association! Several positions will be available in 2020. Read more and apply at indybar.org/board.
Since 2011, Oni Harton has been providing legal services on a pro bono basis to terminally ill patients in hospice care to assist them with estate planning and administration matters at the most vital time of the patient/client’s life. When Oni is called upon for her volunteer pro bono service, she chooses to drop everything and attend to it. Simply put, there is no time to wait.
IndyBar Executive Director Julie Armstrong officially became the president of the National Association of Bar Executives on August 8 at the association’s annual meeting in San Francisco.