We are looking forward to reopening our doors to the public on July 6, 2020. In a continuation of our efforts to promote health and safety, we will be implementing the following guidelines and procedures beginning on July 6, 2020:
• In order to minimize the amount of time you might need to wait in our lobby, we ask that you come into the building at the exact time of your appointment.
• Please attend your appointment alone, unless you need assistance from another person.
• Upon entry into the building, please sanitize your hands at either the stations located immediately within the building.
• After sanitizing, please promptly check in with our receptionist, who is seated at the desk in the middle of the lobby.
• Please practice proper social distancing while you are within the building. We have placed red marks on the floor to assist you in observing the recommended six-feet distance. We have also located our lobby chairs specifically to assist with your observation of proper social distancing.
• Upon completion of your appointment, promptly exit the building.
• Masks are optional and not required inside the building.
• Please notify us if you have experienced any of the following in the last 14 days or if you develop any of the following within 14 days of visiting our office:
o Chills
o Cough
o Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
o Fatigue
o Muscle or body aches
o Headache
o New loss of taste or smell
o Sore throat
o Congestion or runny nose
o Nausea or vomiting
o Diarrhea
• Please reschedule or convert your appointment to an alternative format if you have experienced any of the symptoms listed above within the last 14 days.
Depending on which attorney you are meeting, there may be additional measures or practices that we ask you to observe.
If you are uncomfortable observing our guidelines and practices, we may ask that you reschedule your appointment or convert it to an alternative format.
Please know that we will be regularly disinfecting commonly touched surfaces within our building.
We will be taking Friday, July 3rd off in observance of the holiday. But, we are excited to welcome everyone back into our building on Monday July 6, 2020.
We are now targeting July 6, 2020 as the date on which we will reopen to the public. While we had hoped to reopen our doors to the public this coming Monday, June 15th, we have come to realize that we will need additional time to ready our office to promote the safe resumption of business. Once we reopen to the public, we will be asking the public to observe some simple procedures to promote the safety and health of our patrons and staff. We will update this page to post those procedures as July 6th approaches. Thank you for your understanding and patience as we continue to learn and adapt in these unique times.
Until July 6th, know that we will continue to be open for business. We are available by telephone and video conferencing Monday through Friday. Please call our office at 872-2100 to make arrangements to discuss your legal needs and how we can best assist you in this novel time.
Please know that until July 6th, we will also continue taking short breaks in the work day to play with the adorable puppies that are visiting us. On that note, the newest member of the paw firm stopped by to wag her way into our hearts. Meet Misty, who recently joined the home of Kurt Earnst, who is one of our attorneys. Misty is a ten-week-old black Labrador Retriever who is downright labradorable. Right now, we have hired Misty as a paw-time assistant while she completes her pre-paw undergraduate degree. But, we have plans for Misty's future here at BNJ; we anticipate that she will join our other certified crime labs, Gemma and Doc, with their fury trial consultation services once she passes the bark exam.
New avenue of relief for you all to try when you are feeling deprived of adequate Corgi engagement: Habeas Corg-us. This claim can be applied to require anyone you know with a Corgi in his/her possession or control to produce said Corgi upon your request! At least, that is what we did to get Sue, our receptionist, to bring back Ellie to visit us. Worked like a charm!
We're bark, people! We had two new pawfficers of the court join our firm at the tail-end of our period of quarantine!
Zeus (a Black Labrador and Boxer mix) and Aries (a Catahoula Leopard and Labrador mix) visited us with their owner, Amanda, who is one of our legal assistants. The boys were eager to show off their skills in exchange, of course, for ample treats! In fact, Zeus may be chomping on a hard-earned snack in the picture!
As we mentioned earlier, we are projecting to reopen our doors to the public on June 15th and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone back! But, until then, we will keep hanging out with our paw clerks and working canine to five!
Consistent with the five-step plan outlined by Governor Holcomb on May 1, 2020, we plan to reopen to the public on June 15, 2020!
We acknowledge this date has seen some revisions (as everyone’s schedules have over this period of uncertainty). And we appreciate everyone’s patience as we have navigated how and when to safely reopen our doors.
Until June 15, 2020, we will continue to remain open for business and available to assist via telephone, email, and video conferencing. Call us at 219-872-2100 to discuss your legal needs.
Most importantly, we will continue, as we have been, to have our canine counsel visit us daily until June 15, 2020! On that note, Buckeye visited us recently with Elizabeth, one of our attorneys, and self-imposed an extra measure of social distancing during his time in the office! Really, Buckeye and Gemma got along great and were too busy playing to let anyone take good, posed pictures.
For the first Monday of Stage 2 of Governor Holcomb’s plan, we were assisted by some extra special- pawsibly the most special- arf-vocates: Jemma and Isabella! Jemma (not to be confused with Gemma, of Gemma and Doc “The Crime Labs”) is a Tibetan Terrier puppy whose favorite pastimes are chewing, barking, and annoying her big sister, Isabella who is a Portuguese Water Dog. Jemma and Isabella are owned by Craig, one of our attorneys. Although these canine counsels joined us virtually today, for all intents and fur-poses, we felt like they were in house – the dog house, that is!
Don’t terrier yourself up about the ongoing social distancing and quarantine measures in place in Indiana! We are moving toward all being together again and we will get there one paw at a time!
Braje, Nelson, and Janes is pleased to announce that Rachel E. Doty became a partner of the law firm on January 1, 2021. Rachel has been with the firm since August of 2013 and practicing as an associate since October of 2013. Rachel is originally from Indianapolis but moved to Northwest Indiana to attend Valparaiso University (summa cum laude) and, eventually, Valparaiso University School of Law. Her primary areas of practice are family law, adoption law, juvenile delinquency, domestic relations, and Children in Need of Services actions.