In a profession that prides itself on helping others, attorneys often forget to help themselves. We hope you'll join us on March 27.

It’s probably happened to all of us: upon receiving a holiday gift from a client, it crosses our minds – is this ethical? On the other end of the question is, is it ethical to give a gift to a client?

The holiday season can be a very tricky time in the workplace. All those holiday parties, gift exchanges, feeding frenzies  and  other holiday celebrations can get in the way of normal work activities, resulting in a significant loss of productivity. They can also make your colleagues who don't observe the same holidays or celebrate them differently uncomfortable.

Not only do lawyers serve as representatives of their clients,  they  serve as officers of the legal system and public citizens having special responsibility for the quality of justice. To fulfill these overarching and overlapping roles, lawyers must make civility their professional standard and ideal. 

Professionalism, as it relates to lawyers, means being a competent, effective, respectful advocate for your client and the justice system.

These are words that should be synonymous with “Advocate” but in a world of high stakes, strong opinions, and a general, societal decline in basic manners, how can attorneys fight the good fight while living up to these ideals – especially if the other side doesn’t? We set out to find examples of lawyers who model the way while providing excellent representation.

Jarrell B. (“Jerry”) Hammond, a partner at Lewis & Wager, LLP epitomizes the courteousness and character that form two of the Standards of Professionalism of the Indianapolis Bar Association. His good-natured dealings with other lawyers make it a pleasure to deal with Jerry as opposing counsel, and his representation of multiple generations of family members in dealing with clients’ probate and estate matters is a hallmark of a level of trust and confidence that reflects well upon him and helps raise the esteem in which all lawyers can be regarded.

Shopping never felt so good! The IndyBar Professionalism Committee is collecting supplies until August 29 to help the Exodus Refugee Center in Indianapolis. The center depends on the generosity of our community to provide for immigrants seeking refuge in central Indiana.​

These are words that should be synonymous with “Advocate” but in a world of high stakes, strong opinions, and a general, societal decline in basic manners, how can attorneys fight the good fight while living up to these ideals – especially if the other side doesn’t? We set out to find examples of lawyers who model the way while providing excellent representation.

A 1967 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Harris served as a teaching fellow at Stanford Law School for one year before joining Barnes, Hickam, Pantzer & Boyd, one of the predecessors of Barnes & Thornburg.