This week was the final week of committee meetings for legislators as the end of session rapidly approaches. Twenty-eight bills were heard in committee, and many more are advancing through second and third readings. 

Do you miss networking and in-person events? Good news: registration is open for the 2021 Indianapolis Bar Association Bench Bar Conference in Louisville, KY! We are going back to the basics for this year’s CLE programming.  

The hotly contested issue over the NCAA’s prohibition on paying student athletes landed in the U.S. Supreme Court with a significant percentage of the justices, from both the liberal and conservative sides of the bench, openly expressing skepticism over the current structure of college sports. 

We’re living through strange days, indeed. But one thing about time marching on is that the days tend to get stranger. As lockdown measures were implemented and have stuck around since, most law firms were forced to innovate. There’s an excellent upcoming opportunity to learn more about building a virtual law practice, the consumer-centric law firm and many other topics related to modern law practice management at the IndyBar’s virtual conference The Future of Your Law Firm Is Now, coming up on April 29.

How do I collect on a debt owed to me from a vendor? I’m behind in my credit card payments, what do I do?  How do I secure a money judgment?  Many of these questions can be answered through a quick conversation with an attorney, but getting legal advice can be costly and difficult, especially during the pandemic.

The Honorable Tanya Walton Pratt, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, announced that Mario Garcia was sworn in today as United States Magistrate Judge. Judge Garcia fills a new magistrate judgeship created by the Judicial Conference of the United States. He is the first judge of Hispanic heritage to serve the Southern District of Indiana.

Spring is a time to refresh! Reinvigorate your legal practice and make time to attend one of our seminars this week. See the IndyBar calendar and catch up on news here.

The 2021 legislative session is approaching Sine Die on April 21.

Last year, the IndyBar established a standing committee on Racial Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The committee recognizes the IndyBar’s responsibility to bring about change to achieve equality, diversity and inclusion in the Indianapolis legal community and beyond. As members of the IndyBar, we have that same responsibility. I am calling on the members of the IndyBar to take the initiative with respect to our diverse colleagues who are not members of the IndyBar.

The Indianapolis Bar Association Intellectual Property Section is pleased to announce the availability of scholarships to encourage all eligible law students to complete the Patent Bar Exam. Achieving this goal will enable you as a student to concentrate on the critical summer clerkship and help make you more attractive to prospective employers after graduation.