Practice Profile
- Law Practice Succession Planning
- Estate planning
- Probate administration
- Trust administration
Practice Focus
Expanding legal services to Indiana citizens and communities by helping senior and disabled attorneys in solo and small law firms transition their law practices for value to junior attorneys or law firms who want to build on their legal legacies
Experience
- Associate Attorney – Young, Harris and Harvey in Crawfordsville, IN – 1974-77
- Chief Deputy – Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office in Crawfordsville, IN – 1974-77
- Managing Attorney – Legal Services Program of Northern Indiana in Lafayette, IN – 1978-81
- Director of Research and Innovation – The Navigators in Indianapolis and Colorado Springs, CO – 1981-96
- Executive Pastor – Grace Community Church in Noblesville, IN – 1996-2004
- Owner – Hopper Mediation Services in Carmel, IN – 2004-07
- Administrator of Inheritance Tax – Indiana Department of Revenue in Indianapolis – 2007-14
- Owner and Founder – Hopper Legal Consulting Services in Indianapolis – 2014-Present
Education
- B.A. – Purdue University – Political Science major – 1970
- J.D. – Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law – 1974
Bar Admissions
- Indiana – 1974
- U.S. District Courts for Northern and Southern Indiana – 1974
- Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals – 1975
- U.S. Tax Court – 1977
Professional Associations
- Indiana State Bar Association – Member of Probate, Trust and Real Property Section (current Secretary-Treasurer, member of Probate Review Committee and Chair of its Governmental Claims Subcommittee)
- Indianapolis Bar Association
- Appointed by Governor Eric Holcomb to serve as a member of the Indiana Probate Code Study Commission – 2019 – Present
Awards
- Presidential Citation for Exceptional Contributions to the Practice of Law from the Indiana State Bar Association – 2011
- Patricia Paxton Wagner Excellence in Estate Planning and Administration Award from the Indianapolis Bar Association – 2013
Speaking/Training
- Don has presented over 70 training seminars in the areas of inheritance tax, probate and trust administration to attorneys, paralegals, County Assessors/Treasurers, and financial institutions staff sponsored by state and local bar associations, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF), Indiana Association of County Assessors, Indiana State Board of Accounts for County Treasurers, Indiana Society of Accountants, regional estate planning councils throughout Indiana and financial institutions – 2010 – 2016
- Don has made several presentations on law practice transition and retirement planning seminars through the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum, the Indiana State Bar Association, county bar associations and regional estate planning councils – 2017 – Present
Publication
- Indiana Inheritance Tax Handbook – Published by the Indiana State Bar Association and Indiana Department of Revenue – 2011
- Championship Bearcats – A History of Coal Creek Central High School’s Championship Sports Teams (1953-1971) – 2016