The legal aid clinic for the city of Hammond has moved just one mile away from its old home into a new space donated by law firm Rubino Ruman Crosmer Smith Sersic & Polen in Dyer.The clinic moved between Christmas and New Year’s.Lawyers who do work for the city or are on contract with the city are required to give hours to the clinic. The firm had lawyers who could be called on to help, which is how the idea came…
The Indiana Supreme Court is being asked to take a legal malpractice case in which an Indianapolis law firm got hit with an $18 million verdict two years ago.Attorneys representing law firm Fillenwarth Dennerline Groth & Towe filed a petition for transfer with the state’s highest court Monday in Frederick W. Dennerline III, et al. v. Jim Atterholt, Insurance Commissioner of the State of Indiana, No. 49A04-0610-CV-557. This move comes following the Indiana Court of Appeals ruling in May that upheld the…
Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg has established what the firm believes is the first nanotechnology practice group in Indiana. The firm started the practice group in anticipation of the impact of nanotechnology upon society, business, and industry in the near future. Nanotechnology refers to a field of applied science and technology relating to the control of matter on the atomic or molecular scale. The technology’s applications enter many fields including biotechnology, electrical engineering, and environmental.The practice group is co-chaired by…
An Evansville defense attorney was found dead this morning by police after committing suicide, according to the Vanderburgh County deputy coroner.
Two central Indiana law firms have merged in order to provide their clients with all their legal needs in one firm. Indianapolis law firm Coleman Stevenson and The Montel Law Firm of Carmel officially became Coleman Stevenson & Montel today. The merger, which has been in talks for three months, came out of need, said Gerald Coleman, partner at Coleman Stevenson & Montel.The Montel Law Firm often represents clients in business and transaction work, but doesn’t do much in terms of litigation,…
Expect to see David E. Cook’s face at the Marion County Public Defender Agency a little longer than anticipated.The chief public defender is delaying for a month his departure – originally planned for Feb. 15 – to help make sure the agency has adequate leadership while its board of directors searches for a successor. Cook is stepping down after 12 years as the county’s top public defender to work for immigration firm Gresk & Singleton in Indianapolis.Because the agency needed leadership…
Two years ago, a jury hit an Indianapolis law firm with a $17.9 million verdict after it found the firm liable for a failed health plan that left 8,200 Hoosier with unpaid medical bills.The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed an appeal from that general jury verdict and judgment in favor of the state’s insurance commissioner, Jim Atterholt. The 37-page opinion, which includes a two-page dissent from Judge Carr Darden, comes in Frederick W. Dennerline III, and Fillenwarth Dennerline Groth & Towe…
A decade ago, Vesser and Helen Davis met with an estate planning company representative about how to divvy up their assets and their Hamilton County farm. That representative drew on a flipchart, illustrated ways a partnership and corporation could be set up, outlined differences between wills and trusts, explained the probate process, and advised the pair how they could arrange their finances and establish a corporate structure for the family farm business. In the end, they paid thousands of dollars for…
A former chief judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals and a founder of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation died Thursday.
A Fort Wayne law firm got a scare yesterday when it received a suspicious package from a disgruntled man included in a lawsuit filed by one of the firm’s clients. The firm believed it could contain a bomb and called 9-1-1. It turns out it was only a turnip. The firm Haller & Colvin called police around 3:15 p.m. Thursday after employees opened a package in a typical cardboard box addressed to the firm. The package contained a gift bag with…
A former Marion Superior judge and deputy prosecutor died May 2 after a long battle with cancer. Judge John R. “Jack” Barney Jr., 73, also served as a senior judge for Marion Circuit and Superior courts.Judge Barney, an Indianapolis native, earned his law degree from Indiana University School of Law in 1962 and joined his father’s law firm, Barney & Hughes, after graduation. He practiced at the firm, which later became Barney & Barney, until 1984. Judge Barney was a Marion…
A longtime partner at Baker & Daniels' Indianapolis office is leaving the law firm after 28 years to become the new athletic director at his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame.
You don’t have to be a golf fan to have an interest in the recent PGA tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Course in California.Indianapolis lawyer Joseph Champion at law firm Bingham McHale has a key connection to that tournament and the winning golf pro, Steve Lowry, who walked away with a $1.08 million prize Sunday.The Hoosier attorney has represented Lowry in legal issues such as sponsorships and wealth management, and Champion looks forward to his client’s recent tournament victory as a way…
Tough economic times are causing law firms across the country to consider staff cuts as a way to trim costs, and the Indiana legal market isn't an exception.
A former Marion Superior Court judge and longtime executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council died April 5 at his home after a long illness.Hon. Richard P. Good Jr., 76, was appointed by Gov. Frank O’Bannon in 1997 to Marion Superior Court, where he served in the Criminal Division. During his time on the bench, he was chosen by his peers to serve on the executive committee. After leaving the bench in 2002, he took on temporary assignments as presiding…
A federal grand jury in Hammond has indicted a Schererville attorney with two counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud after being accused of stealing money from two clients.
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended a Vanderburgh County attorney today for at least three years for committing what the court describes as the most serious of ethical breaches.The court came to its decision In the matter of: Douglas W. Patterson, No. 82S00-0402-DI-90, as a result of Douglas Patterson’s conversion of client funds, deceit in concealing his misconduct, and dishonesty with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.Patterson was an associate at a law firm which maintained a trust account. In 1999, Patterson and…
After seeing the film "Flash of Genius," about a man who sued the auto industry over what he claimed was his design for intermittent windshield wipers, an Indianapolis attorney who represented Mercedes (Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft) against the real life Bob Kearns has his own take on the film.
With at least two very closely watched races in Indiana – governor and president – and multiple political theories about how either race will go, there’s bound to be less attention paid to some of the other candidates. But with Republican Gregory Zoeller and Democrat Linda Pence up for the attorney general post and the incumbent Steve Carter not running, this race is worth another look. At stake is the oversight of the state attorney general’s office, basically a very large…
The top public defender in Marion County said he wasn’t forced to leave the agency for any reason, though he does worry that politics could play into the naming of his successor.Indiana Lawyer put the question to David E. Cook after reading a posting on Ruth’s Blog, a Web log devoted to news and commentary. The posting claimed that Cook was forced from his job for political reasons.While Cook is cognizant that his position is a political one and attempts have…