The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson

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.

The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson is a news podcast hosted by Maura Johnson, with 125 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Maura Johnson hosts The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson, a news show with 125 episodes published.

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  The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson

  Solo law firm lessons: cash flow, co-counsel and board game law

  Sep 30, 202636 min

  Solo law firm survival can depend on cash reserves, getting paid and knowing when to bring in co-counsel. An Indiana attorney explains how he built a practice serving lawyers while learning the business realities of running a firm. He traces his career from Thompson Coburn in St. Louis to Hoover Hull in Indiana, then describes the challenges of opening his own practice: setting up systems, collecting fees, pricing matters and rebuilding his reputation without a larger firm's name behind him. He credits the Indiana State Bar Association's General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section with connecting him to mentors and experienced lawyers willing to co-counsel on unfamiliar matters. The conversation also covers his board game law practice, including work involving designer Martin Wallace and Eagle-Gryphon Games. His advice for lawyers considering solo or small-firm practice is practical: Keep overhead low, know your weaknesses, use co-counsel when necessary, hire only when revenue is consistent and plan for retirement.

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  The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson

  Law Schools Adapt to Earlier Recruiting by Big Firms

  Sep 16, 202635 min

  Big law recruiting now has some students committing to two summers at a firm after just one semester of law school. Anne Newton McFadden, dean of students at Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, talks with Indiana Lawyer Podcast host Maura Johnson about applications opening in October and offers arriving in January for jobs that may not begin for another year and a half. McFadden explains how the shift away from on-campus interviews has given firms more control over recruiting and opened doors for students beyond the schools those firms traditionally visited. She also describes the pressure to choose a career before exploring other options, the limits of hiring based on one semester of grades and the potential for mismatches between students and employers. At Maurer, that pressure has prompted career programming before students arrive on campus, including networking instruction, resume resources and 20-minute resume reviews. About two-thirds of the incoming class used the reviews. Required advising meetings and informational interviews help first-year students assess their interests, values and career options. The conversation also covers two-summer commitments, recruiting at smaller firms and government offices, and a Bloomberg Law opinion piece proposing state supreme court intervention. McFadden questions how such rules could be enforced and considers whether hiring mismatches could eventually slow the process. She closes with concerns about student mental health and declining participation in journals and moot court.

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  The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson

  Opera voice training for lawyers: Anne Fuchs on courtroom presence

  Sep 2, 202635 min

  Opera voice training can help lawyers sound more confident, grounded and persuasive by changing how they breathe, stand and use resonance in a room. Anne Fuchs, founder of Foxy Opera LLC and senior director of fellowship and statewide civics initiatives at the Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation, explains how classical vocal technique became a framework for professional communication. She traces her start in a church choir, formal voice lessons at 13 and opera studies before a legal job introduced her to the professional world that would later become an early audience for her coaching. After four years with the Court of Appeals of Indiana, Fuchs describes the courtroom moment that crystallized the idea: watching an attorney argue while standing on one leg, then hearing the argument strengthen once the speaker planted both feet. From there, the conversation moves through posture, breath support, vocal tract alignment, resonance and the difference between sounding loud and being heard clearly. She also explains why confidence can be trained as a physical skill, why recorded voices sound unfamiliar because of bone conduction, and how singers learn not to trust what they hear inside their own heads. A live exercise shows how posture, breathing and connected sound can change vocal presence in real time. The discussion also covers private coaching for attorneys, work with leadership, human resources and sales teams, finding a speaker's natural tessitura, using songs to reshape vocal habits, and planning breaths so complex legal arguments stay clear for judges and juries. Fuchs also discusses presentations through the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and the legal community's early support for Foxy Opera.

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  The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson

  Indiana Paralegals on AI, litigation and career growth

  Aug 19, 202633 min

  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.

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  The Indiana Lawyer Podcast with Maura Johnson

  Flora Legal Group's 250% growth and immigration mission

  Aug 5, 202646 min

  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.

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