JD Journal » Indiana

Right to Work Bill Approved by Indiana State Senate

chelsei — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:56:43 +0000

A measure placed before the Indiana Senate was approved, making Indiana the first of the heartland states to allow a right-to-work bill. The 28-22 vote to make Indiana a right-to-work state by the Senate. The Republican-led Senate had nine of its majority vote against the bill. This caused them to pass the bill onto higher levels of state government.

Although the bill has passed the Senate, it must still pass through the House of Representatives, which faces the challenge of Democrats that have been working to stall it. If passed, the law would allow workers to not pay businesses union dues within the state. The state will have no right to require potential employees to join a union upon being hired.

The bill has faced quite a lot of controversy. Republicans that do not support the right to work bill have been very vocal about their disapproval. At first, it seemed that it would not pass because of the Republican majority. However, the nine Republicans that turned against the bill enabled it to pass through. In addition to it, disapproving Republicans have went as far as to attack the governor for his change of heart regarding the issue. Despite its difficulty, it seems that the bill is on its way to allow the state to be a right to work state.

Republicans Attack Right To Work Vote In Indiana

chelsei — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:25:41 +0000

A vote is sitting in the Indiana House. If won, the vote will make Indiana a right to work state. However, the Republicans are not happy with the possibility of this happening. A sect of Republicans have attacked the proposal through a series of advertisements. These advertisements have been made with the hope of deterring the public from supporting this new bill.

The group, referred to as the Lunchpail Republicans, are attacking the governor’s decision to change his ideals on the right to work proposal. They believe that the governor should have stood strong on his decision instead of changing his mind. So, while this advertisement is working to deter the public from this bill, it’s also attacking the governor personally as well.

Just a few years ago, the governor made a commitment. However, in a recent turn of events, he has upset quite a few people by changing his mind about it. Although his original commitment was nearly eight years ago, it seems that he’s not supposed to have a change of heart about anything. Founder of the Political Action Committee, David Fagan, said, “I feel disappointed. I think he clearly understood the issue well in 2004 when he made the commitment. This issue is polarizing the state and I think will have a negative impact economically on this state.”

The International Union of Operating Engineers support Lunchpail Republican group. They also agree that the governor should not have changed his mind regarding the issue, believing that it should not be a right to work state.

Brian Bosma, the House Speaker, is allowing the House to vote on Tuesday in order to put the right to work proposal to a referendum during November.

Democrats do not have enough vote to derail the proposal, although they admittedly want to block the legislation.

The legislation will band unions and companies from allowing contracts to mandate all employees to join the union.

Epstein Becker & Green Opening Office in Indianapolis

jim — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:56:28 +0000

The law firm of Epstein Becker & Green operated informally for a handful of years in Indianapolis but is not officially opening an office in the capital city of Indiana. This will be the eleventh office for the law firm, which will be staffed by Leah Kendall, recently promoted to membership at Epstein Becker. Bradley Merrill Thompson will also help staff the new office.

Kendall has described herself as a lifelong Hoosier while Thompson is a longtime resident of Indiana. The two will be splitting their time between the offices in Indianapolis and Washington D.C. as part of the law firm’s health care and life sciences practices. The Epstein Becker practice of health care is the firm’s largest practice, with 120 attorneys. The firm has clients in Indianapolis that include Biomet, Hill-Rom, and Roche Diagnostics.

This recently announced move is occurring as other law firms in Indianapolis are merging with law firms from outside the area. These firms are merging with others to expand their practice outside of what some lawyers feels is an oversaturated legal market in Indiana. The plan for Epstein Becker to focus on health care work in the new office will set the firm apart from other firms in the area that practice general law. “I like to think of us as a really large boutique firm,” she says. There have not been any plans announced to hire any additional lawyers yet.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:57:01 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, August 25th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

Reed Smith added leading IP strategist Marc Kaufman to its Washington D.C. office…

For four years running, Greenberg Traurig had more attorneys listed in the annual The Best Lawyers in America Guide than any other firm…

Barnes & Thornburg hired Peter Zura as a partner in its IP division…

DLA Piper gained a 5 person IP team from Hogan Lovells…

TEX-ABOTA Inc. named Richard A. Sayles, acclaimed courtroom lawyer, “Trial Lawyer of the Year”…

Barnes & Thornburg Brings On New Partner For IP Division

todd — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:18:28 +0000

Indianopolis-based law firm Barnes & Thornburg has hired Peter Zura as a new partner in its intellectual property division. Zura will work on the patent prosecution team in the firm’s Chicago office.

Before signing on with Barnes & Thornburg, Zura was a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman.

Zura’s duties will consist of client counsel on patent infringement, validity, an large portfolio due diligence studies.
Barnes & Thornburg is the largest law firm in Indiana and the 97^th largest in the United States. They have approximately 475 attorneys across 7 offices in locations such as Washington D.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; among others.

Morning Roundup

sara — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:30:52 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, February 16, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s stories…

Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, will not run for reelection…

The National Conference of Bar Examiners appeal a Federal Court ruling forcing them to allow a blind California law graduate to use specific software during portions of the bar exam…

Several Canadian law firms are involved with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver…

Kenneth Starr is named President of Baylor University…

The Chinese government says that missing human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng is living in Western China…

Senator Evan Bayh to Retire

joshua — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:58:30 +0000

Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, shocked his home state and the Democrat party today by announcing he will not run for reelection. This is bad news for Democrats who counted that as a safe seat in what is otherwise a generally red state. Senator Bayh has a sizable war chest and was favored to win reelection. In announcing his decision to retire, he expressed confidence that he would have been reelected and cited increased partisan sniping in Washington as his reason for withdrawing. “All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens, my beloved state and our nation than continued service in Congress,” he said.

Bayh has served two terms as a Senator. Prior to that he served as Indiana’s Governor for two terms.

ACLU: Indiana Law Examiners Can’t Ask About Mental Illness

Erik Even — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:54:57 +0000

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has launched a class action lawsuit against the Indiana Board of Law Examiners, alleging that investigating the mental health history of law license applicants violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The ACLU is representing an anonymous woman who seeks an injunction prohibiting the BLE from asking certain questions about mental fitness. She suffers from an anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress.

Similar cases have resulted in the modification or removal of such questions in Maine, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Founded in 1920, the New York-based American Civil Liberties Union consists of two separate non-profit organizations: the ACLU Foundation, which focuses on litigation and communication efforts; and the American Civil Liberties Union, which focuses on legislative lobbying. The ACLU’s stated mission is “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

Alerding Castor Merges With Brian Hewitt

Erik Even — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:16:20 +0000

Indianapolis, Indiana business law firm Alerding Castor is merging with the practice of Brian Hewitt, and setting moving to a new location in Greenwood.

The new firm will be called Alerding Castor Hewitt LLP.

Alerding Castor is an Indianapolis law firm focusing on business law, information technology law (including SaaS law and legal technology consulting), private equity consulting, and business litigation. It has 15 employees.

Barnes & Thornburg Acquires Parsinen Law Firm

Erik Even — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:27:37 +0000

Indiana’s Barnes & Thornburg, which recently expanded into Georgia and Ohio, is now gaining an office in Minnesota through the acquisition of the 22-attorney Parsinen Law Firm.

The Minneapolis office, with 14 partners, will be Barnes & Thornburg’s 10th location. The deal has been in the works since 2008.

The Parsinen Law Firm was founded in 1981.

With 540 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from its offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Columbus and Washington DC.

Barnes & Thornburg Expands (Again), into Ohio

Erik Even — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:30:24 +0000

Last week we reported that Indianapolis’ Barnes & Thornburg had opened an eighth office, in Atlanta, Georgia.

This week the 500-attorney firm announced a ninth office in Columbus, Ohio, with a focus on labor and employment.

William A. Nolan, formerly of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Columbus, joins the new office as a partner.

Barnes & Thornburg has offices in Elkhart, Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana; Atlanta, Chicago; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Washington, DC.

Ice Miller Cutting Support Staff

Erik Even — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:06:39 +0000

Indianapolis law firm Ice Miller is cutting about 2% of its total workforce, a reduction that won’t include any attorneys and that the firm denies is a result of the current economic climate.

The cuts affect 14 positions from various support areas

Over the last few months, we have been engaged in a thorough review of all aspects of our business operations in an effort to increase efficiencies and productivity to better serve our clients. As a result of that review, we determined that we could consolidate some of our internal processes which resulted in much more efficient staffing requirements.

Comforting words.

Ice Miller LLP was founded in 1910 in Indianapolis, Indiana under the name of Henley Matson and Gates. The firm has offices in Indianapolis; Chicago and Lisle, Illinois; and Washington, DC. It employs 250 lawyers. As of 2008, Ice Miller was the 166th largest law firm in the United States.

Working Mother magazine recognized the firm as one of the best places to work in 2007.

McNeely Stephenson Opens First Satellite Office in New Albany

Erik Even — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:31:09 +0000

Shelbyville, Indiana’s McNeely, Stephenson, Thopy & Harrold has opened its first satellite office in New Albany.

The office was established to service a growing base of corporate clients between New Albany and Evansville, according to Lee McNeely, the firm’s senior partner. The firm will focus on litigation and corporate law.

Larry Church, formerly an attorney with Louisville, Kentucky’s Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP, will be the partner in charge of the New Albany office. Richard Bierly also will serve as a partner in the firm, which will include an associate attorney, a paralegal and two office staff employees.

McNeely, Stephenson, Thopy & Harrold was founded in 1976. The firm handles business transactions, personal injury litigation, and insurance defense litigation, with 18 attorneys and 53 staff members.

Baker & Daniels Cuts 22 Positions

Erik Even — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:46:30 +0000

Baker & Daniels LLP last week cut 10 jobs from its Fort Wayne, Indiana office, leaving 52 lawyers and 46 support staff.

Managing Partner Tom Froehle said no lawyers were fired in Fort Wayne or in Indianapolis, where 12 jobs were eliminated.

“The positions eliminated were focused around administrative and facilities staff. Advancements in information technology have changed many aspects of our profession and, as a result, have provided the opportunity for us to achieve greater operational efficiencies with fewer staff members,” Froehle said.

Baker & Daniels has 322 lawyers in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Chicago, Washington, DC and Beijing.

Froehle said the firm added more than 40 attorneys in 2008.