Your ISBA sections and committees provide CLE and resources, plan events, and help 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.

ISBA Members in the Wild

In early February, ISBA leaders and ABA delegates traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for the 2024 ABA Midyear Meeting. Indiana delegates included Melissa Avery, Steve Hoar, Elliott Hostetter, Shontrai Irving, Mike Jasaitis, Jimmie McMillian, and Todd Spurgeon. ISBA President Tom Felts and President Elect Mike Jasaitis also participated in the National Conference of Bar Presidents Annual Meeting to learn from other bar leaders across the country.

Section and Committee Leadership Workshop

ISBA’s section and committee leaders convened in January for a workshop aimed at refining individual leadership skills to better achieve organizational goals. The group evaluated their leadership styles (specifically in their roles as volunteer leaders) through the DISC assessment. Leaders then discussed how their leadership styles popped up in their section and committee work before focusing on the challenges their groups most often faced. They identified a series of goals they’d like to accomplish this year, including to:

• Increase participation in their groups
• Mentor their groups’ future leaders
• Ensure that good ideas have champions who can help make them happen
• Enhance communication between the council and its membership
• And more

Leaders will continue to meet throughout the year to strategize new approaches and pick up new skills to support their members.

Affiliate Membership Committee Wins Award for Paralegal Symposium

The Affiliate Membership Committee’s Paralegal Symposium was recognized by the Indiana Society of Association Executives with the 2023 STAR Award for Outstanding Individual Program/Event. The Paralegal Symposium is a six-hour seminar spanning two half-days that is designed exclusively for paralegals by paralegals. It takes an innovative approach to paralegal education, covering essential skills and professional development in an accessible format.

As one participant shared, “Year after year this program offers speakers who present material relevant to what we, as paralegals, deal with on a day-to-day basis. These individuals make their presentations fun, interactive, and interesting. One couldn’t ask for a better option to obtain CLE hours and/or interact with a group of people who understand your work life!”

Appellate Section Evaluating Appellate Rules, Sets Date for Reception

The Appellate Practice Section is asking its members to comment on how Indiana’s appellate rules work in practice. Their feedback will be incorporated into a report the section is sending to the Indiana Supreme Court Rules Committee, recommending proposed amendments that address problem areas noted by practitioners.

The section has also announced the 2024 Appellate Practice CLE and Evening with the Appellate Judges on May 15—an event that fosters participation between practitioners and the judiciary, where attendees can keep up with the latest updates in the practice then meet with judges at a dinner and reception. Learn more »

General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Announces Date for 2024 SSFC

Scheduled for May 30 – June 1 at French Lick Resort, the ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference promises formal and informal networking opportunities, comprehensive CLE tailored for solo and small firm attorneys, and more. Learn more »

Preview the type of content offered at SSFC with a pre-conference CLE and social: “Maximizing Revenue Through Increased Profitability and Fee Recovery.” Attendees will pick up tips on navigating taxes, avoiding nonpayment from clients, and choosing the best software. Then get a glimpse at the types of connections possible at SSFC over drinks and appetizers. Learn more and register »

The section is also accepting applications for the 2024 GP Hall of Fame Award. The award is given to 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. Applications are accepted until March 6. Nominate a colleague »

LDA Committee Welcomes 12th Class

The Leadership Development Academy’s 12th class kicked off their first session at Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park in January. The class of 25 lawyers identified their individual strengths and how those strengths show up in their personal and professional lives. They also dined with Professor and Retired Justice Frank Sullivan, heard from Justice Mark S. Massa, and had lunch with the ISBA Board of Governors. Their next stop will be the Indiana Statehouse on February 20 – 21. Meet the 2024 class »

Pro Bono Committee Plans Legal Clinics for the Year, Wraps Up TTALT Program

For over 20 years, the Pro Bono Committee and volunteers have manned a hotline on MLK Day for the Talk to a Lawyer Today program. This year, due to a decline in calls, the committee tried something different and teamed up with Indiana Free Legal Answers. This allowed volunteers to search for questions in their fields of practice, participate remotely, and provide pro bono services on their time. This year, 27 ISBA volunteers participated and cleared out 65 questions from Indiana Free Legal Answers’ queue. Altogether, through walk-in sites, Zoom sessions, phone calls, and volunteer programs around the state, a total of 216 attorney volunteers helped 420 Hoosiers.

To continue this work, the committee is sponsoring a series of walk-in clinics held at The Haverstick at the Crossing on:

• February 24
• March 23
• June 8
• August 10
• September 28

The clinics are designed to help Hoosiers with expungements, landlord-tenant issues, immigration, and more. If you are interested in volunteering at any of them, please email Kim Latimore-Martin at klatimore-martin@inbar.org.

Tax Section Offering Scholarship

The ISBA Tax Section is accepting applications for the Judge Martha Blood Wentworth Excellence in Tax Scholarship. This one-time scholarship offers a minimum of $1,000 to any Indiana law student interested in the study and practice of tax law. Applicants should be in good academic standing, enrolled in an Indiana ABA accredited law school, and intend to practice tax law in Indiana after they graduate. Learn more and apply »

Utility Law Section Hosting Spring Seminar

The Utility Law Section is hosting their spring seminar on April 11 in downtown Indianapolis. The annual seminar offers the opportunity to network with seasoned regulatory law practitioners in the electric, communications, consumer, water, and natural gas industries, as well as learn about new developments and hear the direction the industry and practice is taking. Learn more and register »

Women in the Law Committee Delivers Games for St. Mary’s Christmas Program

The Women in the Law Committee collected and delivered 16 board games to the St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center Christmas Program. Altogether, the St. Mary’s program collected close to 500 toy bags, bikes, and dollhouses; 2,500 extra toys, games, and books; a $125 gift card for every family; and pajamas, socks, and a blanket for all 365 children.

The committee will also be heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the 22nd Women’s Bench Bar Retreat. The annual retreat brings together women attorneys and judges from across the state to share in education, camaraderie, and community-building. Each conference includes a selection of CLE specific to the interests and challenges women legal professionals face, as well as social events and relationship-building opportunities designed to form connections between the bench and bar. Learn more »

Other Connection Activities

We’ve loved seeing members at these CLE and networking events!

• The Probate, Trust & Real Property Section, Tax Section, and Ethics Committee brought together their members for a CLE and social on the latest updates in digital legal practice.
• The Utility Law Section hosted members for their annual holiday party and Rate Case Process Seminar.
• The Animal Law Section met at the IU McKinney Law School for a three-hour seminar on the latest updates in animal law.

On-Demand CLE Added to the ISBA Library

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

• ChatGPT, Siri, and Alexa Are Out to Get You. View CLE »
• Substantive Changes to the Rules of Criminal Procedure (Presented by the Criminal Justice Section). View CLE »
• The Corporate Transparency Act: What You Need to Know About the New Law (Presented by the Business Law Section). View CLE »
• Everything You Need to Know About Retirement Planning and More. View CLE »
• An Update on Recent Ethics Decisions That May Affect Your Practice (Presented by the Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Section). View CLE »
• Update from the United States Trustee: SBRA 3 Years Later (Presented by the Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Section). View CLE »
• The Rate Case Process from Start to Finish (Presented by the Utility Law Section). View CLE »
• State and National Updates: Land, Air & Sustainability (Presented by the Environmental Law Section). View CLE »