|
|
|
Indiana Supreme Court set to be all-white, all-GOP appointed
Law Firm Reports |
2017/04/25 23:22
|
Indiana's next state Supreme Court justice will complete the remaking of the bench, as all five justices will be white and will have been appointed since 2010 by Republican governors.
The state's Judicial Nominating Commission on Wednesday chose three finalists to succeed Justice Robert Rucker, who is retiring May 12. Once the names of the finalists — Judges Vicki Carmichael, Christopher Goff and Matthew Kincaid — are sent to Gov. Eric Holcomb, he'll have 60 days in which to choose one to succeed Rucker.
Here is some background on the finalists, Rucker and the court.
VICKI CARMICHAEL:
Carmichael, 54, has been a Clark Circuit Court judge in the Ohio River county just north of Louisville, Kentucky, since 2007. She would be the high court's third female justice ever, including its current chief justice, Loretta Rush. Carmichael, who's married and has an adult daughter in college, was a city court judge in Jeffersonville for six years before becoming a county judge. Unlike the other two finalists, who are Republicans, Carmichael is a Democrat. She previously was in private practice and served as a public defender. She's a graduate of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.
CHRISTOPHER GOFF:
Goff, who turns 45 on Tuesday, has served as a Wabash Superior Court judge since 2005. In his application for the high court seat, he wrote that the courts in Wabash County, located in northeastern Indiana, are among the state's busiest based on the number of cases assigned to each judge. Goff, who is married and has two daughters, previously worked in private practice. He's a graduate of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
MATTHEW KINCAID:
Kincaid, 46, has been a Boone Superior Court judge in the county just northwest of Indianapolis since 2003. Like the other finalists, before becoming a judge he was a lawyer in a private practice. This is Kincaid's second time as a finalist for the state Supreme Court. The Judicial Nominating Commission also selected him last year as one of three finalists to succeed Justice Brent Dickson. Then-Gov. Mike Pence chose Indianapolis attorney Geoffrey Slaughter for that vacancy. Kincaid, who is married with three children, is a graduate of the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
DEPARTING JUSTICE:
Rucker, 70, announced in January that he would retire this spring, five years before reaching the court's mandatory retirement age. His last day on the bench is May 12. Rucker was named to the bench in 1999 by Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon, becoming only its second black justice ever. His departure will leave the court with only white justices, and all three finalists for his vacancy are white. Rucker is the court's only remaining Democratic appointee.
INDIANA'S REVAMPED COURT:
When Rucker's replacement is named, all five members of the state's highest court will have been appointed by Republican governors. Indiana University law professor Joel Schumm said that's the first time that's happened since Indiana voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1970 creating a commission to pick finalists for the governor to choose from. He said he doesn't think the change will be particularly significant because Indiana justices have a long tradition of not being politically ideological in their rulings. The governor's pick will join Rush, Justice Steven David, Justice Mark Massa and Justice Geoffrey Slaughter on the court. Given the ages of the justices, Schumm says they could be together on the court for about 15 years. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increasing Website Visibility - Law Firm Marketing
Law Firm Reports |
2013/08/30 14:08
|
Your law firm's website is basically invisible if it is not at the top few pages of search engine results. Most people navigate the internet and find online services through search engines. Just like the real world, word of mouth can only take your marketing so far. Eventually, you have to look to other sources for marketing your law firm, and search engines are the biggest by far. The Legal SEO Service has been putting law firms on the first page of search results since its inception with tried and true search engine optimization techniques, and that is how we have remained in business for so long. Our clients trust us in perpetually providing them new clients in this manner. Due to the dynamic nature of the internet, search result rankings shift continuously, and we are constantly developing new ways to keep our clients on the top, so their prospective clients will see and visit their website before the competition. With the Legal SEO Service, law firm’s have the marketing necessary to succeed.
With proper hosting, your website and law firm’s marketing materials is available to anybody in the world any time of the day. People can find your website in the comfort of their own home, the local library, an internet café, or a smart phone or tablet anywhere they want. Your website and your other law firm marketing materials can be found and viewed at a client's leisure, unlike radio, television, or traditional print.
Your audience does not need to turn on the radio or television at a specific time. You do not really know when your target audience will listen to the radio or watch television. Not everyone who watches television requires legal representation at that time. People watch television and listen to the radio for recreation. They are not necessarily looking for legal services while performing these activities, although they can be incidentally in need of legal services. Spending a large amount of money to market your law firm in these avenues to reach an incidental audience is not the most efficient way to expand your business.
With television and radio, you are hoping to reach the greatest number of people possible in order to have the most conversions possible. Buying an advertising slot during a popular adult television or radio program is probably the best, and most conventional, way of doing this, but these slots are expensive. You cannot buy your way to the top in organic search engine results, but at the same time, neither can your larger competitors. Our services are an affordable way to ensure higher visibility for your website.
Besides being very cost effective, organic search engine marketing serves people who are actively searching for the service they require at that moment in time. With the Legal SEO Service’s assistance, your site will rank highly on search engine results pages all the time. Your search engine result position does not shift depending on the time of day.
The legal industry is very competitive, but so is the Legal SEO Service, as our clients can attest. Many other law trying to get to your potential clients before you do. If your website shows up at the top of the results for major search engines in regards to relevant search terms, you will be contacted before people on the bottom. People will click on the first few results they see that are pertinent to their needs. Your website and law firm marketing materials will get more views and potential clients with the Legal SEO Service. Many law firms already have an established web presence, and many more are joining in on the online world. Your law firm's marketing plan and website needs the Legal SEO Service to gain an edge above your competitors.
The Legal SEO Service Provides:
- Search Engine Optimized Coding for Websites
- Content Optimization to Increase Page Rank
- The Latest Legal Keyword Research and Selection
- Accurate Performance Tracking Services
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legal SEO RSS Feed
