The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson

IBJ Media Podcast Network
IBJ Media Podcast Network
  • 5.0 (9)
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Navigating the legal world can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The Indiana Lawyer Podcast is here to help you understand the laws impacting your life, work, and community. Whether you’re a legal professional, a business owner, or someone who wants to know how Indiana law shapes the world around you, this podcast is for you. Hosted by Maura Johnson—a passionate legal reporter—we’re here to bring you clarity and insights like no one else can. This podcast is brought to you by Taft, Today’s Modern Law Firm.

  1. 3d ago

    Indiana Paralegals on AI, litigation and career growth

    Indiana paralegals Monica D. Dabio and Dawn Edmondson explain how litigation work, AI tools and professional networks shape a career built on research, organization and problem-solving. Dabio, a paralegal at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP and past president of the Indiana Paralegal Association, and Edmondson, a paralegal at Bose McKinney & Evans LLP and president of the association, trace the different paths that brought them into the profession. They describe the appeal of digging into case facts, learning new industries and using technology to manage increasingly complex litigation. Their work can include collecting and reviewing documents, tracking deadlines, preparing deposition materials, drafting discovery, organizing exhibits and supporting evidence presentation at trial. They also explain how AI is being used for deposition summaries, audio transcription, research and comparisons of witness and exhibit lists, while stressing the need for human review, security vetting and training. The conversation also looks at the Indiana Paralegal Association's role in networking, continuing education, student outreach and career development. Dabio and Edmondson discuss internships, legal assistant roles and other ways new paralegals can gain experience, plus how professional relationships can open doors throughout a career. They also preview IPA's annual silent auction benefiting Outside the Box Inc., and explain how members and prospective members can connect through monthly meetings, the association's job bank and volunteer committees.

    Indiana Paralegals on AI, litigation and career growth

  2. Aug 5

    Flora Legal Group's 250% growth and immigration mission

    Flora Legal Group grew 250% in two years while keeping its original mission: protecting immigrants' rights and helping clients build more prosperous lives. Attorney Jason Flora opened the firm in 2009 in a tiny office on the west side of Indianapolis, near Hispanic-run car lots, Honduran restaurants and Guatemalan grocery stores. Fluent in Spanish, he spent the early years as a solo practitioner, working 60 hours or more each week and regularly driving between his office and immigration court in Chicago. The practice has since expanded to 23 attorneys and nearly 140 full-time employees handling thousands of cases each year. In May, it ranked No. 3 on IBJ's list of the region's fastest-growing companies, based on two-year growth of 250%. Flora explains how limited interest from recruiters at established law firms helped push him toward a street-level practice. He also describes the shift that came with growth, realizing he could create more value by building the organization than by spending every hour practicing law himself. The conversation between IBJ Podcast host Mason King and Flora traces the firm's evolution from a one-man operation to a large legal team while showing how its central purpose has remained consistent. Its work focuses on protecting immigrant clients and providing legal services, particularly in immigration matters, that can improve their lives and economic prospects.

    Flora Legal Group's 250% growth and immigration mission

  3. Jul 22

    Purdue Fort Wayne prelaw builds Indiana's legal pipeline

    Purdue Fort Wayne prelaw advising is building a stronger attorney pipeline through personal guidance, internships and ties to rural Indiana firms. Georgia Wralstad Ulmschneider, associate professor and campus prelaw adviser at Purdue Fort Wayne, explains how she built a program designed to stay with students from their first campus conversations through law school and early career decisions. Her approach includes course planning across multiple disciplines, LSAT preparation, personal statements, law school selection, experiential learning and connections with alumni mentors. The conversation focuses on the attorney shortage affecting Fort Wayne, smaller towns and rural communities across northeast Indiana. Ulmschneider describes how undergraduate internships can substitute for the local clinical opportunities that law schools provide in other parts of the state, while also giving firms an early chance to recruit students who may want to return home. She discusses Purdue Fort Wayne's partnership with the Allen County Bar Association and Allen County Bar Foundation, efforts to create a more accessible internship network, and plans to connect students with rural and small-town practices. Ulmschneider also makes the case for broad undergraduate study rather than a narrow prelaw major, arguing that future lawyers benefit from history, finance, communication, logic and analytical training. She explains why smaller communities need both versatile general practitioners and attorneys who understand business law, and why mentorship, shadowing and even a single coffee meeting can strengthen Indiana's legal profession. Host Maura Johnson also asks how attorneys can support students, build recruitment relationships and help young people see a future in the communities they know.

    Purdue Fort Wayne prelaw builds Indiana's legal pipeline

  4. Trailer

    Jim Bopp Jr. on campaign finance, the Supreme Court, and rule of law

    Jim Bopp Jr. has argued 14 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, sued 45 states, and built one of the most unconventional legal careers in American conservative jurisprudence, all from Terre Haute. In this conversation with host Maura Johnson, Bopp traces his path from organizing high school students for Barry Goldwater in 1964 to becoming general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, a role he has held since 1978. Bopp discusses how his high school and collegiate debate experience shaped his approach to advocacy, why he believes understanding both sides of an argument is essential to sound legal reasoning, and how he structured his firm to prioritize pro bono work over billable hours. He also reflects on two cases that defined his career: a jury trial loss early on that taught him never to accept a client unwilling to fully commit to their own defense, and his 5-4 victory in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, the first U.S. Supreme Court case to apply the First Amendment to judicial campaign ethics canons. The conversation closes with Bopp's definition of the rule of law, framed as the foundational distinction between governance by pre-established statute and governance by the unchecked will of whoever holds power. Jim Bopp Jr. is a constitutional and election law attorney based in Terre Haute and founder of Bopp Law Firm.

    Jim Bopp Jr. on campaign finance, the Supreme Court, and rule of law

  5. Jun 24

    Ken Falk on his career, the ACLU's work and the rule of law

    Ken Falk has spent decades defending constitutional rights for clients ranging from the KKK to Planned Parenthood, and he makes no apologies for it. As legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, Falk argues that the identity of the client is never the point. The constitutional question is.Falk traces his path from a senior center in Washington Heights to legal services offices in Muncie and Indianapolis, explaining how those early years handling divorces, evictions, and welfare cases taught him things law school never could. He reflects on a career built around class action litigation, First Amendment battles, and cases involving conditions inside Indiana correctional facilities, including a recent $1.2 million settlement on behalf of prisoners held in cells without functioning lights and with broken windows, and sewage flooding the unit.He also addresses the state of the legal profession directly, warning that the rule of law depends entirely on public respect for the judicial process. Lawyers who undermine that respect, win or lose, do damage that extends far beyond any single case. His advice to young attorneys is blunt: have humility, appreciate your clients, and understand that strengthening the system is the most important thing any lawyer can do, regardless of practice area.Falk argues before the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court with the same matter-of-fact approach he brings to this conversation. Whether the topic is transgender health care litigation, drug testing of student athletes, or a Klan march in Goshen, his framework stays consistent. The constitutional right either holds for everyone or it holds for no one.

    Ken Falk on his career, the ACLU's work and the rule of law

  6. Jun 10

    Vicky Nunn on leading Ken Nunn Law Office's next chapter

    Vicky Nunn spent 23 years practicing personal injury law alongside her father before stepping into the role of leading one of Indiana's most recognized firms. Now she is carrying forward a legacy built over nearly six decades, with a fourth generation already on the way.Nunn, an attorney at Ken Nunn Law Office in Bloomington, discusses how growing up around her father's cases shaped her approach to client representation, why she changed careers at 36 to attend law school, and what it means to lead a firm of roughly 90 employees, many of whom have been there for decades. She also addresses the challenges of stepping into a role built by a larger-than-life figure, how she is modernizing firm operations, and why she believes Indiana's legal community stands out for its collegiality.Ken Nunn Law Office has tried more personal injury cases in Indiana over the past 26 years than any other firm, and Nunn says the willingness to go to trial is often what secures the best outcome.

    Vicky Nunn on leading Ken Nunn Law Office's next chapter

  7. May 27

    Jim Bopp and Ken Falk on courts, rights, and the rule of law

    Two of Indiana's most consequential constitutional litigators, James Bopp Jr. and Ken Falk, find more common ground than their opposing ideologies might suggest. Recorded live at The Indiana Lawyer's 2026 Leadership in Law breakfast, this conversation covers decades of landmark litigation, the discipline required to pursue long-term legal strategies, and what both attorneys see as a growing threat to judicial independence.Bopp, principal attorney at The Bopp Law Firm PC, describes studying Thurgood Marshall's legal strategy as a model for how sustained litigation can shift constitutional law. Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, reflects on representing everyone from the KKK to Planned Parenthood and explains why defending clients on both sides of the political aisle is essential to protecting everyone's rights.Moderated by Lesley Weidenbener, editor and assistant publisher of The Indiana Lawyer, the conversation also includes both attorneys addressing the current political climate. Falk warns that public attacks on judges and open questions about compliance with court orders threaten the rule of law itself. Bopp agrees, calling civility and respect for the judicial process essential common ground for a functioning democracy.Both men are recipients of The Indiana Lawyer's 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, given to attorneys with at least 25 years of experience whose impact extends beyond the courtroom.For more on Indiana's legal profession, visit theindianalawyer.com.

    Jim Bopp and Ken Falk on courts, rights, and the rule of law

  8. May 13

    Taylor Swift's voice trademarks and what they mean for AI law

    Taylor Swift recently filed three trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, including two sound marks for her speaking voice and one visual mark from her Eras Tour. The filings have drawn widespread attention for what they signal about celebrity IP protection in the age of artificial intelligence.Caitlin Byczko, an intellectual property attorney at Barnes & Thornburg's Indianapolis office, breaks down what Swift's applications are actually requesting, what legal hurdles they face, and why the outcome could set a roadmap for how celebrities, brands, and even everyday people protect themselves from AI-generated deep fakes and unauthorized voice cloning.Biscoe explains the difference between copyright, right of publicity and trademark protection, why sound marks remain rare and legally untested, and how the likelihood-of-confusion standard will determine whether Swift's registrations can hold up against AI platforms. She also addresses the international limitations of U.S. trademark law, the role of platform-level enforcement, and what Tennessee's 2024 right-of-publicity update signals about where state and federal regulation may be headed.For more legal news from Indiana, visit theindianalawyer.com, where you can subscribe to the daily newsletter and browse past podcast episodes.

    Taylor Swift's voice trademarks and what they mean for AI law
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About

Navigating the legal world can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The Indiana Lawyer Podcast is here to help you understand the laws impacting your life, work, and community. Whether you’re a legal professional, a business owner, or someone who wants to know how Indiana law shapes the world around you, this podcast is for you. Hosted by Maura Johnson—a passionate legal reporter—we’re here to bring you clarity and insights like no one else can. This podcast is brought to you by Taft, Today’s Modern Law Firm.

Information

  • Channel
    IBJ Media Podcast Network
  • Creator
    IBJ Media
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    123
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All Rights Reserved

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