ISBA offering law firms reopening guidance amid COVID-19
The Indiana State Bar Association is offering attorneys and law firms suggestions on reopening their practices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Former northern Indiana judge accused of defrauding estates
A one-time Jasper County judge is accused of multiple counts of attorney misconduct related to his representation of two elderly clients’ estates, potentially involving the misappropriation of hundreds of thousands of dollars to his law firm, an office employee and a family member after the clients died.
Longtime KDDK partner John E. Hegeman dies
Longtime partner John E. Hegeman of Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn in Evansville died Friday at Walnut Creek Center, the firm announced Saturday.
3M files suit over alleged scam that targeted Indiana for billions of dollars
In its complaint, filed Thursday in the Indianapolis division of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, 3M accuses Reno, Nevada-based Zenger LLC and its agent, Zachary Puznak, of contacting high-ranking Indiana officials and offering to sell them up to 100 million N95 respirators on behalf of 3M.
Web Exclusive: IndyBar Foundation crisis fund benefits lawyers, Hoosiers in financial squeeze
In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Indianapolis Bar Foundation earlier this month implemented a new fund called the Crisis Empowerment Grant Program. The fund’s goal is two-fold: to put dollars in the pockets of lawyers who may be struggling to make ends meet while continuing to provide free legal services to central Indiana families through four local agencies.
Law firms pivot to keep clients informed about COVID-19 issues
Law firms have been pivoting to marshal the resources needed to answer the questions clients and nonclients have about the coronavirus emergency through websites, emails, podcasts, webinars and more. The topics covered range from government initiatives such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the Federal Reserve’s business loan program to unemployment benefits, force majeure clauses and cybersecurity.
Pandemic creates more uncertainty than usual in legal profession
The Great Recession landed a powerful blow to law firms, forcing layoffs and closures in an industry long thought immune to business cycles, but the spreading downturn caused by the coronavirus brings vast uncertainty about the economic outlook for lawyers.
Letter to the editor: A diverse view of implicit bias
Retired attorney Thomas Norbert Eckerle writes to provide critical comment on the March 18, 2020, Indiana Lawyer article, “The what, why and how of addressing workplace implicit bias.”
Rost and Etienne: Design patents offer protection against aftermarket copying
How can a business or manufacturer legally protect external and aesthetic components from copycats and knockoff suppliers? Design patents.
Essential or non-essential? Lawyers scrambling to provide COVID-19 guidance
Though they don’t have all the answers, legal professionals are being looked to for guidance as clients navigate their new realities.
Federal Circuit tweaks statute to overcome constitutionality concerns with administrative patent judges
On Halloween 2019, a constitutional argument against the process for challenging patents not only convinced a federal appellate court but also inspired the judges to offer their own fix to the statute.
Brown: Patent priorities, trademark cautions for the eco-focused
Earth Day is upon us, and the World Intellectual Property Organization has announced a theme of “Innovate for a Green Future” for World Intellectual Property Day on April 26. Christopher Brown offers two bits of eco-minded intellectual property law.
Sew it goes: Lawyers aid communities during pandemic
For the past several weekends, a sewing machine has been on Julie Andrews’ kitchen table. The Cohen & Malad attorney broke out her old friend, dusted it off and gave the machine a whirl after deciding to sew protective face masks for those on the front lines of tackling the novel coronavirus pandemic.
From engineering to law school: IU McKinney 1L forging new career as first IP Law Scholar
Laine Gonzalez has the distinction of being IU McKinney’s first IP Law Scholar, a program in partnership with Brinks Gilson & Lione designed to train the next generation of intellectual property lawyers.
DTCI: Finding positives: Togetherness in social distancing
Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana member Megan Culp reflects on the positive things I’ve experienced during the COVID-19 crisis to give others a small distraction from the negatives.
Study: Millennial law partners share common values with older generations
A study released Thursday found millennial partners at law firms are not that different in their attitudes toward work from their other colleagues, but divisions do appear across the generations between genders and racial groups.
Web Exclusive: After near-death experience, Hoosier attorney cycles for cancer community
An Indiana attorney who quit his passion of biking after a series of personal crises — one of which nearly cost him his life — found renewed passion and purpose by getting back on the saddle.
Coronavirus update: Indiana Supreme Court issues 5 orders giving flexibility
Cases handled by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office continue to be rescheduled or continued as the Indianapolis courts adjust operations in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Working through it: Law firms scramble to practice remotely amid pandemic
Numerous orders put in place to protect Hoosiers from the spread of the novel coronavirus during the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic have abruptly halted that routine for attorneys statewide. Unable to get into their brick-and-mortar locations for the foreseeable future, some lawyers with more traditional practices are scrambling to get up to speed in a virtual world.
Less than half of law firms have disaster plans, ABA report finds
As more and more attorneys and law firms work remotely in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those lawyers don’t have plans for disaster recovery or business continuity, according to a 2019 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report.