Scott Cockrum Discusses Appointment as President of Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana with The Indiana Lawyer

Highland, Ind. (December 4, 2024) – Northwest Indiana Partner Scott Cockrum recently spoke with The Indiana Lawyer about his appointment as President of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (DTCI). 

Mr. Cockrum was appointed DTCI’s President at its annual meeting in November. In The Indiana Lawyer article, he discussed his path to becoming an attorney and his agenda for DTCI, including plans to attract more young lawyers. 

Mr. Cockrum recounted how he initially studied engineering at the Evansville-based University of Southern Indiana before pivoting to law following a conversation with a professor in graduate school at Indiana State University. Post-graduation, he recalled starting out working as a defense lawyer on medical malpractice cases in Hammond. He became involved in DTCI through Northwest Indiana and Indianapolis Managing Partner Renee Mortimer, with whom he also worked at a prior firm.

Discussing his upcoming plans for DTCI, Mr. Cockrum commented that he is assembling a long-range plan for the organization “for the next five years and then some,” adding that DTCI is “really looking at trying to bring in younger people, newer lawyers, to start to get more involved and more engaged.” He added that he aims to “get more people involved from the corners” of Indiana, in addition to the Indianapolis area. 

“I have an interest in seeing people coming in from these other areas and maybe becoming more involved than they would have in the past, because of limitations of geography,” Mr. Cockrum said. 

Mr. Cockrum concluded his interview by emphasizing that DTCI offers defense lawyers in Indiana the opportunity to network with other attorneys statewide while also obtaining CLE credits. 

“Even with fellow defense lawyers, you don’t always have the opportunity to connect on that level,” he told The Indiana Lawyer. “So to have that experience, to be able to learn from the people who are here, network with them, experience all that, and still have a good time, is the elevator pitch for what someone really should take a look at, particularly if they do more than 50% of their time as a defense attorney.”

Mr. Cockrum is the Administrative Partner of the Northwest Indiana office and a partner in the Indianapolis office of Lewis Brisbois. He has extensive experience handling professional liability claims in state and federal courts in Indiana, including ones involving the defense of architects, engineers, lawyers, accountants, surveyors, property managers, and realtors. He also frequently represents physicians and nursing homes in medical malpractice claims.

Read his full interview with The Indiana Lawyer here (subscription may be required). Learn more about DTCI here.