Graduates of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law achieve greatness. Whether practicing law in a small family firm, an international firm with offices around the globe, a start-up tech company, or any number of other settings in and outside the field of law, our graduates make a difference. The graduates listed here are examples of people who have gone the extra mile, not just excelling in their workplace or community, but by leaving their mark on the larger national and international environment.
Arrangement is by year of birth. To search for a specific notable alumni, use the search box in the upper left-hand corner of this screen.
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Donald Phillip Dorfman
Donald Phillip Dorfman was born in Evansville, where he graduated (1951) from Benjamin Bosse High School. He then travelled north to attend Indiana University in Bloomington. Dorfman received his A.B. degree from IU in 1954 and then enrolled at the University’s school of law, where he earned his J.D. degree in 1957.
Upon graduating, Dorfman was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s Department of the U.S. Air Force. Following his release from active duty, he settled in Sacramento, California, where he would become a deputy district attorney for the county and a successful criminal defense lawyer. He also continued serving his country in the Air Force Reserve and would eventually retire at the rank of Colonel.
Dorfman’s career has always been guided by his belief that all defendants deserve an ally and advocate of the highest order. Dorfman founded the Sacramento Criminal Lawyers Association and served as its first president. He also served as a member of the Sacramento County Bar Association's Indigent Defense Panel board and the Peer Review Committee.
Dorfman served on the law school’s Board of Visitors (1998-2017), was a member of the IU Alumni Association’s Executive Council, and was the President of the Sacramento chapter of the IU Alumni Association. He establish a needs-based scholarship to assist Maurer law students who need to work to complete their degrees. He has been an active recruiter for both IU and its law school, having single–handedly placed more Maurer graduates in California than any alumnus. In 2006, Dorfman was awarded the Alumni Association’s President's Award. The law school presented Dorfman with its Distinguished Service Award in 2005, while the University presented him with the President’s Circle Laure Pin in 2014. Donald Phillip Dorfman was inducted into the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2014.
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James Franklin Fitzpatrick
James Franklin Fitzpatrick was born in the small northern Indiana town of Bluffton, on January 18, 1933. He graduated from Allen High School (1951) in Bluffton and then enrolled at Indiana University. Fitzpatrick received his A.B. degree (economics), with honors and departmental honors, in 1955. Fitzpatrick then received a Rotary International Fellow to study economics at Cambridge University (Corpus Christi College) in England. He returned to Indiana in 1956 and enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1959.
After clerking for John S. Hastings of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Fitzpatrick joined the Washington, D.C., law firm Arnold, Fortas & Porter in 1961. He rose to be a partner and remained with the firm for more than 30 years. Fitzpatrick’s career has largely been spent advising and representing clients in matters related to the executive branch, the courts, and regulatory agencies of the federal government. His client list has included major political figures, multinational businesses, and the Commissioner of Baseball. Active in the D.C. arts community, Fitzpatrick sponsored the 1989 Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition, “The Perfect Moment,” which triggered a national debate regarding the role of government sponsored art projects. In 1996, Fitzpatrick returned to the law school to serve as a prosecutor in the mock trial of Richard III for the murder of the princes in the tower, before a three-judge panel chaired by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Upon retirement, Fitzpatrick has served as a visiting member of the Law Faculty at Trinity College Dublin, as well as taught at the Georgetown Law School in Washington. Additionally, Fitzpatrick and his wife head the James F. and Sandra J. Fitzpatrick Charitable Foundation. Fitzpatrick has served on the law school's Board of Visitors for more than 25 years. James Franklin Fitzpatrick was inducted into the Indiana University Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1993.
James "Jim Fitz" Fitzpatrick died, at the age of 88, in February 2021.
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Shirley Schlanger Abrahamson
Born (1933) and raised in New York City, Shirley Abrahamson received her bachelor's degree from NYU in 1953, her law degree from the Indiana University School of Law in 1956, and a doctorate of law in American legal history in 1962 from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Prior to being appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, by Governor Patrick Lucey in 1976, Abrahamson practiced law in Madison for 14 years and was a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. At the time of her appointment, she was the only woman serving on the court. She won election to the court in 1979 and re-election in 1989, 1999, and 2009. From August 1, 1996 until April 30, 2015 she served as chief justice. Abrahamson retired in 2019.
Abrahamson served as both president of the National Conference of Chief Justices and chair of the board of directors of the National Center for State Courts. She also has served as chair of the National Institute of Justice's National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence. She was a member of the Council of the American Law Institute, the New York University School of Law Institute of Judicial Administration. She also served on the State Bar of Wisconsin's Commission on the Delivery of Legal Services, the American Bar Association's Coalition for Justice, and the National Academies' Science, Technology and Law panel.
Abrahamson was recipient of 15 honorary doctor of laws degrees, as well as the Distinguished Alumni Award from UW-Madison. She was a fellow of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was an elected member of the American Philosophical Society. In 2004, she received the American Judicature Society's Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence. In 2009 the National Center for State Courts awarded her the Harry L. Carrico Award for Judicial Innovation, for serving as a national leader in safeguarding judicial independence, improving inter-branch relations, and expanding outreach to the public.
In 1985 Abrahamson was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law’s Academy of Law Alumni Fellows and in 1986 was awarded an honorary LLD degree. In 2013 Indiana University presented her its Distinguished Alumni Service Award.
Shirley S. Abrahamson died, at the age of 87, in December of 2020.
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Allen Sharp
Allen Sharp was born in our nation’s capital on February 11, 1932. As a child, Sharp spent time in Oklahoma, Texas, and Southern Indiana. Ultimately, he graduated from Van Buren High School in Brown County, Indiana, and then enrolled at Indiana State Teacher’s College (Indiana State University) in Terre Haute. Just as he was to begin his senior year, he accepted a job in the mail room of the U.S. Senate buidling in Washington, D.C. While working in D.C. he completed his undergraduate studies at George Washington University, reciving his A.B. in 1954.
Offered scholarships at the law schools of New York University and Indiana University, Sharp chose IU. He received his JD in 1957. After undergoing six months of Air Force Reserve duty, Sharp took over the practice of a retiring attorney in Williamsport, Indiana, and settled in to the life of a small town attorney and Hoosier farmer. In 1964, he unsuccessfully ran for the State Senate, but he was elected to the Indiana Appellate Court in 1968 and won a ten-year renewal in 1972. In 1973, Sharp was nominated by President Nixon to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. He served on the court until his death and was Chief Judge from 1981 to 1996. While serving on the court, Sharp received his M.A. degree from Butler University (1986).
A history buff, Sharp published chapters in several legal history books and multiple articles in The Supreme Court Historical Society Journal and the Indiana Historical Society’s Traces magazine. Sharp died on July 10, 2009, in Granger Indiana, at the age of 77.
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Gene Edward Wilkins
Gene Edward Wilkins was born on Main Street in New Palestine, Indiana, on August 6, 1932. He graduated from that city’s New Palestine High School, as valedictorian, in 1950. After high school Wilkins became the first person in his family to go to college, attending Indiana University. He received his A.B. from Indiana in 1954. Wilkins then enrolled at the IU School of Law, where he received his JD degree in 1957.
After law school, Wilkins accepted a position with the Indianapolis firm of Bamberger & Feibleman. He became a partner in 1960, and spent 35 years with the firm. He finished his career as a Senior Counsel at Ice Miller. Wilkins specialized in representing family and closely held businesses and estate planning. He also spent 13 years teaching as an Adjunct Professor for the IU School of Law.
Wilkins chaired the Young Lawyers sections of both the Indiana State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He was a board member of many Indianapolis local civic organizations, including the Indianapolis Speech and Hearing Foundation, the Meridian Street Foundation and the Governor’s Residence Commission. Wilkins was named a Sagamore of the Wabash during the O’Banon administration, and was named a Distinguished Service Award winner by the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2015. Gene Edward Wilkins died in Indianapolis, at the age of 85, in 2018.
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William Irwin Garrard
William Irwin Garrard was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 16, 1932. He was raised in Frankfort, Indiana, where he graduated from Frankfort High School in 1950. Garrard then attended Wabash College earning his B.A. degree in 1954. After college, Garrard served in the US Army for two years. He enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law in 1956 and received his JD degree, Order of the Coif, in 1959.
After law school, Garrard began his legal career with the Warsaw, Indiana, firm Graham, Rasor, Eschbach & Harris. He remained with the firm for the next 15 years, while concurrently serving as Deputy Prosecutor from 1959 to 1969. In 1974, Governor Otis Bowen appointed Garrard to the Indiana Court of Appeals. He was reelected to the bench in 1976, 1986 and 1996. In 1990, Judge Garrard earned his LL.M. from the University of Virginia Law School, becoming the first Indiana judge to attend the school’s masters program for sitting judges. Garrard served more than 25 years on the bench, before retiring in 2000 and becoming a Senior Judge of the Court of Appeals.
Garrard served as an adjunct professor at the IU School of Law for 10 years and is a past president of the law school’s Alumni Association. Garrard is a recipient of Wabash College’s David Peck Medal, three Sagamore of the Wabash awards, and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Presidential Citation. William Irwin Garrard was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2000.
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William Rufus Stewart
William Rufus Stewart was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on May 21, 1932. After high school, he enrolled at Indiana University, working his way through college as a house assistant to legendary IU President Herman B Wells. Stewart graduated with high honors in political science in 1954 and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. With a letter of recommendation from Wells, Stewart entered the Indiana University School of Law in the fall of 1954. He was called to active duty in 1955 and rose to the rank of first lieutenant. He returned to the law school in 1957, served as an associate editor and then note editor of the Indiana Law Journal, before receiving his J.D. in 1959 (Order of the Coif).
After law school, Stewart started out as an attorney with the Atomic Energy Commission (1959-1963). He then joined the National Labor Relations Board as a legal assistant on the Chairman’s staff. In 1967, he was selected to be President of the Board’s professional association. In 1969, he began working for the Board’s Appellate Court Branch and in 1978 was promoted to Deputy Assistant General Counsel. Stewart was appointed Chief Counsel in 1994, the first African-American to hold the position.
Upon his retirement in 1997, President Clinton presented Stewart with the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Service, the highest honor the federal government can give a career civil servant. Stewart is the only NLRB employee to ever receive the award. At the time, Clinton noted, “America’s tradition of hard work has made our country strong, and you can be proud of your contribution to that legacy. Your dedication to the public is an inspiration to others. Indeed, your commitment to excellence at the Board is unparalleled.”
William R. Stewart was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1999. Upon hearing the news of his induction, his old boss Herman Wells remarked, “Bill Stewart is an outstanding example of the fine caliber of our undergraduates and their unsurpassed dedication to excellence in both their professional and private lives. It was my privilege to have Bill as a member of my household in the early 1950s, and it is an even greater privilege to acknowledge his lifelong career on behalf of our great country. His induction into the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows is one more well-deserved recognition of his illustrious service in the legal profession.”
William Rufus Stewart died on February 16, 2004 at the age of 71. In 2006, the Law School established an annual William R. Stewart Lecture on Labor and Employment Law.
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Arthur M. Lotz
Arthur M. Lotz was born in Lanark, Illinois, on May 3, 1931. After graduating from Lanark High School (1949), he attended Manchester College (Indiana) for two years before joining the United States Air Force. After ten years as an Air Force pilot, Lotz returned to Manchester and completed his business degree in 1962. He then enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law and received his JD in 1965.
After law school Lotz joined the Indiana University Treasure’s Office, before he began working for the IU Alumni Office in 1969 - first as Alumni Secretary, and then as Executive Director of the Bloomington campus office. In 1978 Lotz joined the law school as the Assistant Dean for Placement and Bar Relations, and in 1980 he assumed the duties as Assistant Dean for Budget Administration, Bar Relations, and Development, the position he held until his retirement in 1996.
Among his many accomplishments at the law school are designing the school’s first development plan, developing the strategy used to build support from the Higher Education Commission and the state legislature for the law building addition and renovation, and serving as a tireless ambassador for the law school. He expanded alumni events, created and broadened Alumni Weekend, fostered the development of several regional alumni clubs, and initiated the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows.
In 2005, Lotz's classmates, colleagues, and fellow alumni created the Arthur M. Lotz Endowment for Alumni & Development, which funds alumni outreach efforts. The School's Office of Alumni and Development is named in his honor. Lotz was inducted into the Indiana University Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2009 and was awarded the IU Foundation’s President’s Medallion in 2012.
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Hugo Charles Songer
Hugo Charles "Chad" Songer was born in the tiny town of Duff, Dubois County, Indiana, on April 11, 1930. Duff, and the people who lived in the surrounding communities, shaped Songer into the man he became and he has remained grateful his entire life. After graduating from Huntingburg High School in 1948 Songer took a job with a company that manufactured venetian blinds and repaired high school scoreboards. In 1951, he enlisted in the Army, serving overseas during the Korean War until his discharge in 1954. Songer then enrolled at Indiana University, before matriculating at the Indiana University School of Law in 1957 and receiving his LL.B. in June of 1960.
After graduating from law school, Songer was a law associate in Evansville, Indiana, before spending seven years as the U.S. Commissioner for the Federal Court of Evansville. He practiced law in Jasper, Indiana, and then became Judge for the Dubois County Circuit Court. In 1969, Songer was a member of the commission that wrote the Crime Report of the City of Evansville – the report received the James Bethell Freedom Award and became a model for cities nationwide. Songer served on the State Board of Law Examiners for more than 20 years, was President of the Evansville Bar Association (1970-71), was a member of the Law School's Board of Visitors (1979-1982) and was President of the I.U. Law Alumni Association in 1983-84. Upon his retirement from the bench, in 1996, the Governor of Indiana presented him with the Sagamore of the Wabash award.
Songer has always had a passion for the past, especially as it relates to Southern Indiana. He is the author of a history of his hometown, Duff: A Continuum and a memoir, Dufftown: Rural Life in Southern Indiana during the Great Depression and World War II. In addition, he has written The History of Huntingburg, and most recently a historical novel, The Buffalo Trace to Tippecanoe: Purty Old Tom Montgomery and the Settlement of Southern Indiana.
Hugo Charles Songer was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1997.
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Joseph Breckinridge Board, Jr.
Joseph Breckinridge Board, Jr., was born in Princeton, Indiana, on March 5, 1931. He graduated from Princeton High School in 1949. Board then enrolled at Indiana University, majoring in government, and received his A.B. degree, with highest honors, in 1953. His education continued in England, as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a B.A. and a Master’s degree in jurisprudence from Oxford University. Upon returning to the United States, he became a teaching fellow and lecturer in government at I.U. At the same time, he attended the Indiana University School of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1958.
Upon graduating from the Law School, Board joined the faculty of Elmira College in Elmira, New York. In 1961 he became an Associate Professor at Cornell College in Vernon, Iowa. He ultimately rose to the rank of Full Professor, and chaired Cornell’s Political Science Department. In 1965, he joined the faculty of Union College in Schenectady, New York, as Professor and Chairman of the Political Science Department. He remained at Union for the rest of his career and was named the Robert Porter Patterson Professor of Government in 1973. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Albany School of Law.
Board served as a Visiting Professor or as a Guest Lecturer at schools across the globe – the Sorbonne in Paris, the London School of Economics, the Universities of Umea and Lund in Sweden, the University of California, Brown University, City University of New York, and Oxford University, to name a few.
Joseph B. Board was inducted in the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2000. Jospeh Board died on October 12, 2007.
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Lee Herbert Hamilton
Lee Herbert Hamilton was born in Daytona Beach, Florida, on April 20, 1931. His family relocated to Tennessee and then to Evansville, Indiana, where he played basketball and graduated from Central High School in 1948. He attended DePauw University in Greencastle, where he studied history and played on the basketball team. Hamilton graduated from DePauw University with honors in 1952. In 1954 he married another DePauw graduate, Nancy Ann Nelson. After a year of study at the Goethe University in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, in 1952-53, he entered the Indiana University Law School, graduating in 1956. He went into private practice, first in Chicago and then in Columbus, Indiana. Active in local and state democratic politics, Hamilton was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1964.
Hamilton served 17 terms in Congress from a district that ostensibly belonged to the Republican Party, in part because of his moderate and independent voting record, but above all for his unflagging service to his constituents and the sincerity and integrity that they attributed to him. Hamilton's constituent relations fed directly into his legislative work. Bills that he initiated in the areas of government operations, economic development, crime, drug abuse, and environmental protection were frequently the outgrowth of expressed constituent concerns. Even as he became influential in foreign affairs and national economic policy, he maintained a record of legislation intended to be good for Hoosiers as well as the nation. As his vision in national and international affairs grew, he became a supporter of legislation promoting democracy and market reform in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and peace and stability in the Middle East, expanding U.S. markets and trade overseas, and overhauling U.S. export and foreign aid policies. Throughout his career he was supportive of legislation that would improve the efficiency and ensure the integrity of Congress through ethics, administrative, and organizational reforms. He was consistently against war and adamantly in favor of exhausting all other options before resorting to violence.
Upon leaving Congress in 1998, Hamilton became director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC and established the Center on Congress at Indiana University, which he directs. He has remained an important and active voice on matters of international relations and foreign affairs, serving as a Commissioner on the influential United States Commission on National Security in the 21st Century (better known as the Hart-Rudman Commission), and as Co-Chair with former Senator Howard Baker of the Baker-Hamilton Commission to Investigate Certain Security Issues at Los Alamos. He was also appointed a member of the advisory council for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2001, and from December 2002 through August 2004 served as Vice-Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (9/11 Commission). He worked tirelessly with the 9/11 Public Discourse Project growing out of the commission's work, advocating in support of the National Intelligence Reform Act, which was signed into law on December 17, 2004. He continues to advocate for a stronger congressional role in foreign policy and for greater public awareness of, and concern for, the work of Congress.
Hamilton has received numerous awards and citations from people, organizations, and governments across the globe; so numerous they can’t all be listed here. In particular, Hamilton is surely the only Maurer graduate to be induction into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (1982), the Law School’s Academy of Law Alumni Fellows (1990), as well as being a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2015).
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Richard S. Rhodes
Richard S. Rhodes was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 22, 1931. He graduated sixth in his class, of 295 students, from Isaac C. Elston High School in Michigan City, Indiana, in 1947. He attended Indiana University and received his B.S. degree in Business in 1950. He then enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law where he served on the editorial board of the Indiana Law Journal (v.28 and 29). He graduated, Order of the Coif, with a LL.B. degree in 1953.
After graduation, Rhodes served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army. In 1956 he moved to Washington, D.C. to work in the General Counsel’s office of the Federal Communications Commission. His career in government service lasted only five months, however, as he was selected to serve as a clerk to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sherman Minton. When Minton retired, Rhodes clerked for Justice William J. Brennan.
Rhodes then moved to Chicago, where he would spend more than 30 years working for the firm, Chadwell, Keck, Kayser, Ruggles & McLaren. He ultimately became a partner, specializing in antitrust law. Just when many retire, Rhodes switched focus and began a second legal career specialising in alternative dispute resolution: arbitration under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association and mediation for the Center for Conflict Resolution.
Rhodes served as Chairman of the Chicago Bar Association’s antitrust committee, as President of the IU Alumni Club of Chicago, and has been an active member of the Law School’s Board of Visitors (1982-88; 1994-present). Richard S. Rhodes was inducted into the Maurer School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2012.
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Frank Lewis O'Bannon
Frank Lewis O’Bannon was born on January 30, 1930 in Louisville, Kentucky. His family lived in Corydon, Harrison County, the site of Indiana’s first capital. O’Bannon graduated from Corydon Central High School in 1948, and then enrolled at Indiana University. He graduated in 1952 with a degree in government, and then served for two years in the United States Air Force. After his military service, he returned to Indiana and enrolled at the Indiana University, Bloomington School of Law. He received his J.D. in 1957, and then he returned to Corydon to begin his law practice and work in the family business, publishing the Corydon Democrat newspaper.
The O’Bannon family was steeped in politics. His grandfather Lewis O’Bannon served as county surveyor and county recorder, and then was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 1924. His father Robert O’Bannon was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1942 and served for 28 years, becoming one of the most respected members of the Senate. In 1970, Frank O’Bannon was elected to take his father’s place in the Indiana State Senate, serving for 18 years. He quickly rose in the ranks of the leadership for the Democrats in the Senate, serving as minority floor leader from 1979 to 1988. In 1988 he announced that he was a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor of Indiana, but then he stepped aside for Secretary of State Evan Bayh. Bayh selected O’Bannon to run as his lieutenant governor, and the Bayh/O’Bannon team was elected in November, 1988. They were reelected in 1992 by an overwhelming margin. In 1996, O’Bannon was the obvious choice for the Democrats for Governor, and he was unopposed for the nomination. O’Bannon defeated Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith in the 1996 election, and then he was reelected comfortably in 2000.
O’Bannon’s political career was one marked by contrasts of supporting views that were both conservative and liberal. O’Bannon was strongly supportive of law-and-order (including the death penalty), while also supporting environmental protection laws and increased spending on education. State finances suffered in the post-September 11th recession, which complicated his vision for Indiana.
Frank O’Bannon suffered a massive stroke on September 8, 2003 while attending an international trade conference in Chicago. He died five days later without having regained consciousness. After his organs were donated, he was cremated and his remains were interred in the family plot at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Corydon.
Frank O’Bannon was inducted into the Law School’s Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1998.
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Frederick Foltz Eichhorn, Jr.
Frederick Foltz Eichhorn Jr., was born in Gary, Indiana, on October 16, 1930. A graduate (1948) of William A. Wirt High School in Gary, Eichhorn enrolled at Indiana University and received his B.S. in 1952. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he spent two years in the United States Air Force, before returning to Bloomington to attend the Indiana University School of Law. While in law school he was named one of ten Krannert Fellows, served as President of the Law Club, and served as a member of Phi Delta Phi. He received his J.D. from Indiana in 1957.
After graduation, Eichhorn joined his father’s law firm (Gavit & Eichhorn) in Gary. In 1963 he became partner and ultimately managing partner in the firm that became Eichhorn, Eichhorn & Link (1977-1994). Additionally he was General Counsel of the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) from 1977 to 1993. In 1985, he was elected President of the Indiana State Bar Association.
In 1990, Eichhorn began 15 years of service as a member of the Indiana University Board of Trustees. He served as President of the Board from 2002 to 2005. Eichhorn was named a Sagamore of the Wabash in 1993 and a Distinguished Hoosier in 1996. Eichhorn served on the law school's Board of Visitors from 1983 to 1986. In addition to being inducted into the the Steel City Hall of Fame (2000), Eichhorn was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2002. Frederick F. Eichhorn Jr. died on October 3, 2012.
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Joel Ronald Rosenbloom
Joel Ronald Rosenbloom was born in Gary Indiana on September 25, 1930. A graduate of Horace Mann High School in Gary, Rosenbloom then attended the University of Illinois, receiving his A.B. degree in Philosophy in 1951. He next enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law. Rosenbloom was a Notes editor of the Indiana Law Journal (v. 29) before receiving his J.D. degree, with distinction, in 1954. After law school, Rosenbloom served in Europe as a member of the U.S. Army. Upon his discharge, he returned to Indiana to clerk for James A. Emmert of the Indiana Supreme Court. In 1957 he moved to the nation’s capital to accept a position as an Appellate Counsel for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Rosenbloom remained at the FCC for eight years, rising to Legal Assistant to the Chairman (1957-63) and then Special Assistant to the Chairman (1963-65). Rosenbloom is credited with conceiving and implementing the FCC strategy to bring cable television within federal regulatory authority. In 1965, he joined the firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, in Washington, and would remain with the firm until his retirement in 2004. Due to his extensive experience in communication matters, Rosenbloom led the firm's work with the FCC, dealing with major broadcast transactions and litigation over the Commission's television and broadcast policies and business practices.
Rosenbloom served on the executive committee of the Federal Communications Bar Association, as well as the School of Law’s Board of Visitors (1982-88 and 1994-2001). Joel Rosenbloom was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 1994. Rosenbloom died on June 24, 2014.
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Joseph Andrew Hays
Joseph Andrew "Andy" Hays was born in New Castle, Indiana, on June 3, 1930. He graduated from James Whitcomb Riley High School in South Bend, Indiana, in 1948. Hays spent a year studying at Purdue University, before enrolling at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He received his B.S. in Journalism from Utah State in 1953 and then enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving two years. Hays then enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law, where he received his LL.B. in 1959.
After law school, Hays was hired as a junior member of the labor relations staff of Kennecott Copper in Salt Lake City. Kennecott soon recognized Hays’ skills as a communicator and he quickly rose to senior positions within the labor law group and corporate relations staff. Hays temporarily left Kennecott in 1965 for a two-year stint as the Director of Public Affairs for the Peace Corps. He returned to Kennecott and served in its New York offices as an executive in labor and government relations. In 1969, he became a Vice President of the New York Stock Exchange. From 1976 until 1983, he was Vice President for Corporate Affairs for the American Can Company, before being hired by Chicago’s Tribune Company. Hays spent 13 years with the company as their Senior Executive for Corporate Relations and as a member of the executive committee.
Hays retired from the Tribune in 1996, but continued to serve as a consultant to the CEO of the Tribune Company. He also established the Hays Group, a consulting firm that provides counsel to companies on communications policy and enhancing shareholder value and to no-for-profit organizations for strategic planning and fund raising. He retired from Hays Group in 2010.
Hays has served as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Utah State University Department of Journalism, and helped to establish the law school’s Harry Pratter Professorship in 1998. Joseph Andrew Hays was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2001.
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Miles Carston Gerberding
Miles Carston Gerberding was born in Decatur, Indiana, on October 25, 1930. A 1948 graduate of Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Gerberding enrolled at the Indiana University Fort Wayne Center before joining the United States Army. Upon his honorable discharge in 1952, he returned to Indiana and completed his education at the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Gerberding received his B.S. degree in 1954. He enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law, prior to receiving his undergraduate degree, and received his LL.B. from the law school in 1956. While in law school he served as a Notes Editor for the Indiana Law Journal (v.30 and 31).
Gerberding began his legal career with the Fort Wayne firm of Nieter & Smith. He also practiced with the firm of Barrett, Barrett & McNagny in Fort Wayne, before joining the firm of Barnes & Thornburg. After 41 years of practice, Gerberding retired in 1997. During his long career, Gerberding served as president of the Indiana Bar Association (1979-80), as a fellow of the American College Trusts and Estates Counsel, and the American College of Tax Counsel.
In retirement, Gerberding stayed active as a pilot, as the president of the Benzie County (Michigan) Bar Association, and as the director of the United Way of Allen County. He was a member of the Indiana University School of Law Board of Visitors (1980-1986) and received the law school’s Distinguished Service Award in 2000.
Upon his death, in 2015, an Allen County Bar Association resolution stated - “Miles work ethic was unshakeable. . . . He was force: a brilliant strategist, a pillar of the local, state and national bar associations. . . . A person's title did not matter to Miles; each person was deserving of respect. . . . Miles' legal career was remarkable for his achievements and awards, but it was best exemplified by the utmost respect for all he encountered and by his unwavering service to his clients."
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Sidney David Eskenazi
Sidney David Eskenazi was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 25, 1930. Growing up during the Depression, Eskenazi learned about hard work at an early age; he began working at 13. He graduated from Shortridge High School in 1947 and then enrolled at Indiana University. Eskenazi spent his summers taking classes at Butler University and, as a result, received his B.S. degree in Business from IU in 1950. He immediately enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law and three years later received his LL.B. Over the years, Eskenazi built a successful career as a lawyer and a commercial real estate developer. In 1963 he founded Sandor Development, which has grown to be one of the largest privately-held shopping center developers in the nation, owning and operating over 8 million square feet of retail space across 25 states. He also served as managing partner in an 18 member Indianapolis law firm.
Eskenazi and his wife Lois are recognized as philanthropic leaders in central Indiana and many of their gifts have benefitted Indiana University. In the 1970s, they endowed a scholarship fund for law students on both the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. Similarly, they have established scholarships at IU’s Herron School of Art and the IU Medical School. The building that houses the Herron School was named after the Eskenazis in 2007 and in 2011 their $40 million gift enabled the Eskenazi Health Foundation to build new hospital facilities in Indianapolis. The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital and Eskenazi Health campus officially opened in December 2013. In 2016, the Eskenazis donated $15 million to the Indiana University Art Museum to assist in the renovation of that building. The museum is now known as the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art.
Eskenazi was awarded the IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award in both 1991 and 2007. He was award the Indiana University Presidents Circle Laurel Pin in 2013 and was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2007. Eskenazi and his wife were presented honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the University in 2018.
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Thomas Lee Stevens
Thomas Lee Stevens was born in Hammond, Indiana, on May 18, 1930. Eighteen years later, he graduated from Hammond High School and enrolled at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Stevens graduated from DePauw in 1952 and then enrolled at the Indiana University School of Law. While in law school, Stevens served on the Student Editorial Board of the Indiana Law Journal during 1953/54 (v.29) and as a Note Editor in 1954/55 (v.30). After receiving his law degree in 1955, Stevens enlisted in the United States Navy and served in the Office of the Judge Advocate General at the Pentagon.
In 1958, Stevens returned to the Midwest and accepted a position with the Chicago firm of Lord, Bissell and Brook. Stevens would remain with the firm for the next 37 years, becoming a partner in 1966 and retiring as the firm’s CEO in 1995. During his years at the firm, Stevens specialized in insurance and general corporate law. Additionally, he served as Chairman of the Public Regulation of Insurance Companies Committee of the American Bar Association, as well as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee. Over a 20-year period (1975-1995), Stevens held numerous positions with Lloyd’s of London, including a term as General Representative. In the late 1980s, Stevens served as an adjunct professor Chicago-Kent School of Law, teaching insurance law and regulation. He also served as a judge for the Indiana University Law School’s Sherman Minton Moot Court competition.
Thomas Lee Stevens died in Naples, Florida, on September 13, 2013.
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Flerida Ruth Pineda-Romero
Born in Tondo, Manila (Phillippines), Flerida Ruth P. Romero served on the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 1991 until 1999. She remains one of the most prominent scholar-professionals in Philippine history. Devoted to the betterment of her people and country, she has worked tirelessly for the rights of Filipino citizens, particularly women and children. Her enduring commitment to her nation has spanned all three major branches of the Philippine government: the Executive Department, the Constitutional Commission, and the Supreme Court.
Romero received her law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1952, and then was accepted to the Indiana University School of Law on a full fellowship, and received her LL.M. degree in 1955. She often refers to Indiana University as "the family university" because her mother, Juliana C. Pineda, and her sister, Preciosa Irma Pineda Florentin, also earned graduate degrees from Indiana University.
After graduation from IU, Romero returned to her homeland and began an academic career at the University of the Philippines - initially as a researcher in that university's Labor Education Center and later as a professor of law (a position she held for 22 years). A recognized expert in civil and labor law, she held the first Professorial Chair in Law and Development and later served as director of the University of the Philippines Law Center. While working on the Civil Law Revision project at the University of the Philippines Law Center, Romero was instrumental in drafting the Family Code of 1987. This was a seven-year endeavor, for which she became affectionately known as the "Mother of the Family Code." She drafted many other legislative works as well, including the Administrative Code of 1987, the Local Government Code, and the Consumer's Code.
With the assistance of her colleagues at the University of the Philippines, Romero established the Asian Labor Education Center, which eventually became the degree-granting School of Labor and Industrial Relations. This program attracts Asian labor leaders to participate in training that emphasizes the philosophy of free, responsible, and democratic trade unionism. A leader in labor law, Justice Romero was the first labor arbitrator under Presidential Decree No. 21 and often has been called upon to mediate industrial disputes. She is an accredited voluntary arbitrator.
Justice Romero is the author of numerous scholarly works, including articles in The Journal of Professional Education, The Philippine Labor Review, The Philippine Law Review, and The Court Systems Journal, among many others.
Justice Romero had many opportunities to leave public work and pursue a private practice. Her patriotism and dedication to the people of the Philippines has, however, compelled her to remain in the public sector. In 1986, she was chosen by then-President Corazon Aquino to be secretary-general of the Constitutional Commission and oversee the creation of a new Philippine constitution (modeled after the United States Constitution). This new constitution, establishing a democracy and ending the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, was written in less than five months and ratified by the Filipino people that same year. From 1991 to 1999, Romero served as a justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the highest court in the Philippine judiciary system.
Justice Romero has vigorously fought to elevate the status of women and children through lecturing, publishing, and promoting legislation. She was chosen in 1975 to head the Philippine delegation to the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico. In 1995, Romero received the Gintong Ina Award (Golden Mother Award) and participated in the Regional Consultation on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. She presently serves as president of the Philippine Women Judges Association, as international director of the International Association of Women Judges, and as consultant to the University of the Philippines Women Lawyers' Circle.
Romero retired from her position as Senior Associate Justice on July 31,1999. On that occasion, former Philippines Supreme Court Justice Andres R. Narvasa said, "Justice Romero will be remembered as among those who most strongly influenced the development of Philippine law in the twentieth century . . . her distinguished career bears eloquent witness to more than four decades of continuous effort to promote the richness of the legal system." Romero's colleague, Associate Supreme Court Justice Minerva P. Gonzaga-Reyes, echoes these sentiments: "To women who have chosen the same path, her example is simply enlightening and her success truly inspiring. Beneath her gentle and unassuming ways lies an abundance of wisdom and strength. Yet through all her success, she remains an engaging colleague and friend."
Justice Romero was inducted into the Indiana University School of Law's Academy of Alumni Fellows in 1994, She was awarded an honorary LL.D. in 2000. Flerida Ruth Pineda-Romero died in 2017.