Your ISBA sections and committees are busy providing CLE and resources, planning events, and helping push the profession forward. Check out what they’ve been up to. If you have any section and/or committee updates you would like to share, email Abigail Hopf at ahopf@inbar.org.

Section and Committee Leaders Gather for Second Quarterly Chair Meeting

ISBA section and committee leaders met virtually this April to discuss strategies for CLE and event planning. Each quarter, chairs are brought together to collaborate, learn with staff, and build a support network for sharing ideas and problem-solving solutions to common challenges.

This quarter, leaders studied the current climate of the events marketplace (including post-pandemic trends like lower attendance rates, higher demand for venues, and labor shortages). (The overall suggestion from the ISBA events team? Be flexible and stay focused on your audience and the goals of the event.) Leaders then learned best practices for managing the content side of CLE planning—from finding quality speakers to exploring resources outside of CLE. (Leaders, if you missed the presentation in April, you can access the slides on the ISBA Leadership Listserv.)

Diversity Committee Sponsors Job Fair, Introduces Partnership Subcommittee

The Diversity Committee is a Supporter Sponsor for the 2023 Indianapolis Bar Association Diversity Job Fair. The job fair (July 24-25) is an opportunity for diverse students and post-graduate/early career attorneys to meet with Indianapolis employers in one-on-one interviews and networking events. It brings decision-makers face-to-face with diverse jobseekers from across the country, ensuring that Indianapolis’s legal community also continues to grow more diverse.

The committee also created a partnerships subcommittee that’s designed to funnel the work the committee does outwards. In short, the committee strives to not only use their expertise in creating resources and CLE but also in helping other ISBA sections and committees (and other external partners) keep diversity at the core of their planning—from sharing resources to embedding DEI elements and topics in CLE and events. If you’re interested in any collaboration or partnership opportunities, or want to learn more, email Leah Baker (lbaker@inbar.org).

The committee has also compiled a list of events and resources related to Pride Month and ways you can support your LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues. Check them out here »

Environmental Section Updates Bylaws, Hosts Summer Social

The Environmental Law Section has updated its bylaws. The changes focus on the section’s approach to the Annual Summit, its list of standing committees, and on adding in more inclusive language (“the secretary” vs. “he”). These changes will be adopted (and a new council elected) at the section’s next meeting on June 29.

The section has also planned a summer social for members and other attorneys interested in environmental law. Each year, the section offers two socials, each designed to bring members into direct contact with state agencies and provide a relaxed atmosphere for members to get to know each other and foster collaborations. This year, the summer CLE and social will be held at ISBA’s office and will feature a presentation by IDEM on the bills that passed this legislative session. Learn more and register »

Family Law Opens Nominations for Nanette K. Raduenz Award

The Family & Juvenile Law Section is accepting nominations for the 2023 Nanette K. Raduenz Award until June 20. The Nanette K. Raduenz Award honors a judicial officer (or former judicial officer) who has gone above and beyond to improve the judiciary in family law. Nominees demand civility and professionalism in their court, exhibit high moral character and ethical standards, protect the rights of all involved in family and juvenile cases, and embody the core values set forth in the judicial oath. If there’s a family law judge you’d like to nominate, fill out the form here »

The Most Bingeworthy Conference: General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Hosts 2023 SSFC

The ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference was held June 1-3. The conference is presented by the ISBA General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section. Now in its 21st year, this year’s conference saw record-breaking attendance, an impressive feat post-pandemic. Four Indiana Supreme Court Justices (Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush and Justices Mark S. Massa, Geoffrey G. Slaughter, and Derek Molter) shared their insights from behind the bench and were joined by an impressive lineup of other legal professionals sharing tangible takeaways targeted towards solo and small firm practitioners. Conference attendees joined together in these learning sessions as well as well-being activities and both structured and casual connection opportunities. To play along with the conference’s “bingeworthy” theme, attendees also participated in the conference’s first-ever costume party.

The section also presented its annual Hall of Fame award (recognizing an outstanding member of the legal profession whose career has served as a model for lawyers in the general, solo, and small firm practice of law) during the conference. Congratulations to Maria Matters, Indianapolis!

LDA Committee Celebrates Graduation of 11th Class

Twenty-five attorneys graduated from the 2023 Leadership Development Academy this May in Fort Wayne. The class (and committee) have spent the past five months traveling across the state—from Muscatatuck to West Lafayette to Fort Wayne—learning about different leadership styles and putting their own into practice. They heard from every Indiana Supreme Court justice; local leaders, business owners, and community partners; military officers, government leaders, and problem-solvers. They explored a nuclear power plant, played a paintball game in a shantytown, met with the governor of Indiana, and made long-lasting connections with each other—all in their quest to become better, stronger leaders.

“Don’t ever underestimate yourself,” (Ret.) Justice Steven David shared at the class’s graduation. “Be humble but be willing to step up, take a chance, roll the dice, take some calculated risk, and fail occasionally. You can do this. Do not believe that you are not capable of being an effective leader…We need you now more than ever.” View the list of 2023 graduates »

Pro Bono Committee Helps Launch New Indiana Pro Bono Academy & Resource Center

With help from graduates of the Class 10 Leadership Development Academy and partners across the pro bono community, the Pro Bono Committee has launched the Indiana Pro Bono Academy and Resource Center. The center is a hub designed to train and connect Hoosier attorneys with pro bono opportunities and providers across the state. It offers an entry point for attorneys unsure of where to start, aggregating links to Indiana’s major pro bono organizations and volunteer opportunities. And it offers training through on-demand CLE (available for free and for credit) covering the most common pro bono topics. Through this one-stop shop, you can gain everything you need to feel more comfortable providing pro bono or civil legal aid to low-income Hoosiers. View the Pro Bono Academy »

Well-Being Committee Undergoes Strategic Planning

The Well-Being Committee sat down with ISBA Executive Director Joe Skeel to reevaluate the work the committee is doing and create a new strategy moving forward. Members discussed what the committee does well, how it met its mission, and what they could be doing with their unique position to better support attorneys. Together, they created two new goals to guide the committee’s work from here on out. Goal One: to provide well-being options on a regular, rotating basis and to normalize well-being in conversations. Goal Two: to support ISBA sections and committees through better collaboration, targeted resources, and opportunities and events open to the wider membership.

Young Lawyers Section Offers Legal Assistance to Those Affected by Severe Storms

The Young Lawyers Section is working in collaboration with Indiana Legal Services and the ABA’s Disaster Legal Services to help Hoosiers affected by the severe storms in early April this year. Indiana Legal Services has offered its toll-free hotline (1-844-243-8570) to intake low-income Hoosiers seeking assistance. These Hoosiers will then be matched with attorneys who can help with legal issues like FEMA and SBA financial benefits, home repair contracts, property insurance claims, landlord and tenant problems, disability-related access to disaster programs, and estate planning (re-doing wills and legal documents destroyed by the storms).

The section is currently seeking volunteers who can help answer these phone calls. If you’d like to learn more or express interest in volunteering, contact YLS Rep, Elliott Hostetter at ejhostett@gmail.com, 812-661-8535 or YLS Liaison, Rebecca Smith at rsmith@inbar.org, 317-266-2591.

Let Me Pick Your Brain: Section Surveys

It’s an integral part of any section’s duties—surveying section membership to gauge how members are feeling, gather new CLE topics, and find out what benefits members are looking for. These can be approached in different ways, however, depending on each section’s goals and interests.

For example, both the Criminal Justice Section and the Intellectual Property Section recently shared a “typical” survey with their member. Both utilized a variety of question formats (including sliding scales, multiple choice and multiple selection questions, and open-ended text boxes) to ensure they were getting diverse data from their membership that reflected the questions each section’s council had in mind. Criminal Justice, for example, focused on member benefits and CLE topics, as well as section interest in pro bono or advocacy-related projects. Intellectual Property chose to focus more questions on demographics (where members lived and practiced, and what holes existed in those areas that the section could fill).

Some sections have tried out new approaches to engage their membership and build connections. The Agricultural Law Section held a series of brainstorming sessions via Zoom where participants discussed potential section activities, the merits of in-person vs. virtual education, and connection opportunities. The information from these conversations was then paired with a survey that went out to the rest of the membership. The Senior Lawyers Section recently tried a similar approach: a focus group open to any attorney 60+ to discuss the things that kept them up at night. This created an opportunity for members to form deeper connections with other senior lawyers on top of generating ideas for CLE and events the Senior Lawyers council could host in the following year.

On-Demand CLE Added to the ISBA Library

The following CLE were added to ISBA’s on-demand library. Missed them in action? Check them out now—virtually and at your convenience!

• Open Conversations: Assessing Legal Services and Access in Indiana. View CLE »
• ChatGPT: What Is It, and What Are the Ethical Implications? View CLE »
• 2023 ISBA Paralegal Symposium (Sessions are approved for ISBA Affiliate Member credit, not attorney CLE credit.)
  • Can You Be More Ethical Than Saul’s Assistant, Francesca Liddy? View CLE »
  • Social Media Discovery. View CLE »
  • Efficient Productivity: Shortcuts and Cybersecurity. View CLE »
  • Creating an Authentic Personal Brand. View CLE »