Your ISBA sections and committees are busy providing CLE, planning events, and helping push the profession forward. Find out what they’ve been up to, and feel free to share your section and/or committee updates by emailing Abigail Hopf at ahopf@inbar.org.

ISBA Hosts 2023 Annual Summit

In September, section, committee, and board leaders convened to review any pending resolutions, reflect on Indiana’s legal community, and inaugurate the 2023-24 President, Senior Judge Thomas J. Felts. Key highlights included electing eight new board members (on top of President Felt’s chosen council positions), the first AI presentation in a series ISBA will be offering, and updates from various legal organizations and councils.

ISBA delegates also received a report from sections and committees, summarizing the work each has done this year. Check out your section or committee’s report here, or view all reports here.

A few highlights from the reports:

• Affiliate Membership Committee updated paralegal membership requirements.
• Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights expanded their law student externship stipend program.
• The Probate Review Committee (under the Probate, Trust & Real Property Section) submitted 10 bills that became law this year.
• Utility Law launched an online community for its members.
• The Well-Being Committee revamped its mission statement.
• And many more accomplishments.
  

Affiliate Membership Presents Cathy Canny Award

The Affiliate Membership Committee presented the 2023 Cathy Canny Award of Excellence to Angela Hopson, recognizing her outstanding professionalism and unparalleled commitment to delivering high-quality legal expertise. Angela, a contracts administrator and project manager at Cummins Inc., was presented with the award at a surprise reception in which members of her family and Cummins staff were present.

Ag Law Revitalizes a Dormant Section

Since 2020, the Agricultural Law Section has had little engagement and no formal meetings or events. That’s changed with the help of a few volunteers. The section officially elected new officers and council members and held its first meeting and CLE since the pandemic. Section members planned another CLE for November, with further plans to provide legislative reports in next year’s session, social events, newsletters, and articles.

Appellate Section Scholarships and Seminar

The Appellate Practice Section offered an up-to-$2,000 scholarship for section members to attend the Appellate Judges Education Institute Summit. The annual summit not only provides relevant education opportunities, but also connects lawyers with federal and state appellate judges from across the country.

The section also successfully offered an interactive Appellate Skills Seminar this August. The event gathered new(er) practitioners and more experienced appellate lawyers and judges (along with a few Supreme Court justices) to discuss and then put into practice best strategies for appellate brief writing.

Bankruptcy Student Stipends

The Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Section awarded five stipends for students externing for U.S. Bankruptcy Court judges this summer and fall: Matilda Ning (Notre Dame), Aunyá Sutton (Maurer), Wenxi Lu (Maurer), Roc Uebelhor (McKinney), and Sydney Cathcart (Maurer). Each student received $1,000 to help offset their costs during their externships.

In a continued effort to promote law student involvement, the Bankruptcy Section also updated its bylaws to add a council position for law students at the September board meeting.

Learn More About the CFAF Committee

Each year, two dollars from your dues goes to a fund specifically created to assist those affected by attorney dishonesty. This fund, the Clients’ Financial Assistance Fund (CFAF), has existed for decades and is overseen by the CFAF Committee. Learn more about the work this group does (and the lessons they’ve learned along the way) in an article they authored in the October Res Gestae issue. Read “Lessons Learned by Clients’ Financial Assistance Fund Committee” »

Family Law Scholarships and Award

The Family & Juvenile Law Section is providing scholarships for section members to attend the 21st Annual Family Law Institute. The scholarships are offered in honor of three individuals who have continuously given back to the family law community and who embody the ideas of education, mentorship, and leadership in family law: Andrew Mallor, Andrew Soshnick, and Debra Dubovitch.

The section also presented the 2023 Nanette K. Raduenz Award to Magistrate Andrew Bloch at the Annual Meeting of the Judicial Conference this September.

GP, SSF Plans for 2024 Solo & Small Firm Conference

The SSFC Planning Committee has started plans for the 2024 conference. Committee members met in August to both connect with each other and go over data from the 2023 conference to brainstorm what worked, what could be better, and how the event could be improved in the next year.

Applications Open for the 2024 Class of the Leadership Development Academy

The LDA Committee is now accepting applications for the 12th class of the Leadership Development Academy. Ideal applicants are lawyers in the first 5-15 years of practice who are interested in expanding their networks, developing their leadership skills, and supporting their communities. Applications are due by November 1. Learn more and/or apply »

Pro Bono Committee Clinics and “Clearing the Queue” Program

The Pro Bono Committee has wrapped up a series of successful walk-in pro bono clinics this year. The clinics, a joint effort by the committee and One More Non-Profit, assisted dozens of Hoosiers across the state with expungements, landlord-tenant issues, immigration, and more. Thanks to hosting the clinics at the Haverstick in Indianapolis, in-need visitors were also able to receive food and other assistance.

The committee is also preparing its annual Talk To A Lawyer Today volunteer program; though this year, instead of answering a diminishing number of calls on a legal hotline, volunteers will be clearing the queue of nearly 300 unanswered questions on Indiana Free Legal Answers. A prep CLE with 6.0 hrs. CLE/1.0 hr. Ethics covering the top pro bono topics will be available soon.