Hoeppner Wagner & Evans Named "Best Law Firm". Readers of Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly named Hoeppner Wagner & Evans the best law firm in the region in the publication's fifth annual reader poll. NWIBQ readers have awarded the firm top honors for the past five years.

Need advice on how to handle HIPAA? Hoeppner Wagner & Evans counsels many different types of entities, including corporations, healthcare entities and educational institutions on HIPAA related issues. Our firm also conducts training programs for supervisory and management personnel on HIPAA compliance. For more information, please contact us at (219) 464-4961.

Looking for a speaker for your next company meeting or professional organization program? Contact Hoeppner Wagner & Evans! Our attorneys possess extensive speaking experience on topics of interest to a variety of businesses and organizations. Call us to learn more: (219) 464-4961.

Indiana Auto Case Law Manual

April 2008

Hoeppner Wagner & Evans is sponsoring the Portage Chamber of Commerce Business Opportunity Night being held at the Woodland Park on April 24.

Hoeppner Wagner & Evans is sponsoring the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) 10th Annual Northwest Indiana Human Resource Conference on April 10. The program is being held in Merrillville at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza. HWE partner, Jim Jorgensen, will be a featured presenter on the topic of legal issues relating to attracting and maintaining a workforce. For more information about this program, visit the SHRM website at:
http://www.shrmnwi.org/chapter%20conference.htm

March 2008

Hoeppner Wagner & Evans was a Gold Expo Sponsor of the 2008 Merrillville Chamber of Commerce Spring Expo held on March 27 at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza.

February 2008

Lee Lane attended the 7th Annual Women's Bench Bar Retreat held in Culver Grove, February 29 - March 2. This annual educational conference is sponsored and organized by the Women in the Law Committee of the Indiana State Bar Association.

Hoeppner Wagner & Evans partners presented the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Indiana Chapter's Northwest Indiana Continuing Legal Education program held on February 22. Joe Jaskowiak discussed "Covenants Not To Compete/Trade Secrets Act and Enforcement," Tina Bengs spoke on the "Interaction Between Workers' Comp, FMLA, ADA" and Jim Jorgensen discussed the "Military Leave Act."

January 2008

Hoeppner Wagner & Evans is pleased to announce that Sean E. Kenyon and Michael E. Tolbert have become partners of the firm effective, January 1, and that Sarah L. Mutz has joined the firm as an associate.

Sean Kenyon joined the firm as an associate in 2004, after practicing law with a South Bend, Indiana firm for nearly nine years. She focuses her practice on civil litigation, insurance coverage, and employment matters. Ms. Kenyon has served as an adjunct professor for Indiana University, South Bend and has also coached and judged moot court trial competitions at Notre Dame and Indiana University, as well as St. Joseph's High School. She received her law degree, cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law in 1991. Ms. Kenyon holds two undergraduate degrees: a B.A. from Indiana University (1986) and a B.B.A., magna cum laude, from St. Bonaventure University (1982). Ms. Kenyon is active in several legal organizations. She is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, the St. Joseph County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana, and the Porter County Inn of Court. Ms. Kenyon is located in the firm's Merrillville office.

Michael Tolbert joined the firm as an associate after being admitted to the Indiana Bar in 2000. He focuses his practice primarily in the areas of insurance defense, civil litigation, employment law and wrongful death actions which include catastrophic personal injury cases. He received his law degree, cum laude, from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2000 and his undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from Valparaiso University in 1997. Mr. Tolbert is active in many legal and business organizations. He is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Gary Chamber of Commerce, President of the Porter County Inn of Court, Vice President of the Continuing Legal Education Commission, Vice President of the James Kimbrough Bar Association, and the Board of Governors for the Indiana State Bar Association where he serves on the Executive Committee. With respect to community activity, Mr. Tolbert is on the Board of Directors for Housing Opportunities, a non-for profit organization, located in Valparaiso, Indiana. Mr. Tolbert is located in the firm's Merrillville office.

Sarah Mutz joined the firm after practicing law with the Chicago firm of Mayer Brown LLP. She focuses her practice on labor and employment and other commercial litigation. Ms. Mutz received her law degree from the University of Michigan School of Law in 2006. She received her undergraduate degree in International Relations and German, with honors, from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001. As an undergraduate student, Ms. Mutz studied abroad in both Berlin and Munich. Prior to going to law school, Ms. Mutz was living in Munich and was a consultant with BearingPoint Consulting. She also taught English through the Wallstreet Institute, also in Munich. Ms. Mutz is located in the firm's Merrillville office.