Baker & Daniels Lawyers Offer Comments for Law Day 2010

"Each lawyer has the incredible opportunity to help others," Andrew Z. Soshnick of Baker & Daniels said in the Indianapolis Bar Association's advertorial recognizing Law Day 2010 and published in Indiana Lawyer.

"The exercise of that opportunity betters lives and society," continued Soshnick, a firm partner and Indianapolis Bar Association board member. "That is the essence and joy of practicing law."

The advertorial featured more than 50 comments from judges, attorneys-at-law, law students and others.

"If there is a bedrock principle of the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable," Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989), pointed out A. Scott Chinn, a Baker & Daniels partner and IBA's First Vice President.

Said Kathy Osborn, a Baker & Daniels partner and IBA Appellate Practice Section chair, "I am honored to practice law and to have opportunities to serve both my clients and the community as a result of my legal education. Being a litigator is like being a professional and perpetual student - the learning track is infinite and diverse. I learn new skills and ideas on a daily basis from the smart lawyers and professionals who surround me. And my clients teach me about business management and a fascinating array of industries and niche products. On all but perhaps the most stressful of days, I enjoy and welcome the challenges presented to me to analyze problems, plan strategically and think creatively for the benefit of clients and their employees and families."

Baker & Daniels' Brita Horvath and Andrew Campbell, co-chairs of the IBA Pro Bono Commission, referred to the Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and Discipline of Attorneys, Rule 22, Oath of Attorneys: "I do solemnly swear or affirm that: I will … never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless, the oppressed or those who cannot afford adequate legal assistance; so help me God."