Attorney Profiles

Practicing civil litigation representing plaintiffs and defendants in many legal areas including, personal injuries, insurance litigation, products liability, trucking, medical and legal malpractice, business disputes, contract claims, alternative dispute resolution

Robert J. Konopa was admitted to the Indiana Bar in 1967 following his graduation from Notre Dame Law School and has since practiced in both state and federal courts, trying cases for both plaintiffs and defendants. Bob is also a certified mediator.

Bob's extensive trial experience, combined with mediation skills acquired from formal training, experience, and a negotiator's instincts, are particularly useful in complex cases, whether they involve personal injury or commercial subject matter.

Bob was inducted as a Fellow in the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers in 1990. He was an Associate Lecturer at Indiana University, South Bend from 1965-1977. He is a member of the Defense Research Institute, Inc. and Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (Member, Board of Directors, 1996-98, Diplomate Award 2000), American Trial Lawyers Association, and the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association. In 2008 Bob was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 25th anniversary edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the specialties of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation and Product Liability Litigation. He is one of a distinguished group of attorneys who have been listed in Best Lawyers for twenty years or longer.

Bob has also achieved an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating granted for competency and ethics in law, a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence.

Representative Clients

Allstate Insurance Co.
Auto Owners Insurance Co.
Employers Mutual Insurance Co.
Liberty Bell Agency
Hamilton Mutual Insurance Co.
American Family Mutual Insurance Co.
The Assurant Group
Encompass Insurance Co.
Carlson Worldwide Restaurants, TGI Friday's, Inc.
Colony Insurance

Education 

Notre Dame Law School, L.L.B., 1967
University of Notre Dame, M.A. English, 1964
University of Notre Dame, A.B. in English, 1963

Teaching Experience

1972-1977 Special Program Environmental Affairs 
(Criminal Justice courses on undergraduate and graduate levels)
1967-1971 Business Law (Contracts, Real Estate, Negotiable Instruments; Secured Transactions; Agencies, Partnerships, Corporations, Legal Environment of Business)
1964-1967 English Composition Indiana University South Bend: Associate Lecturer

Professional Listings

Martindale Hubbell Law Directory (AV rating, 1984 - present)
Best Lawyers in America (1987 - present)
Best's Directory of Recommended Insurance Attorneys and  Adjusters(1982 - present)

Presentations

Cross-examination of the Independent Medical Examiner, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, 2007
Mediation Mistakes, Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, 2005
Spoliation of Evidence, National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators, 2005
Civil Mediation Training, ICLEF, 2004
Wrongful Death Litigation, ICLEF, 2004
Indiana Judges on Indiana Evidence; The Tough Issues Argued, ICLEF, 2000
Bad Faith in Insurance Litigation, Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 2000
Wrongful Death, ICLEF, 1999
Powerful Cross-examination, Cross-examination of the Medical Expert, ICLEF, 1995
Governmental Tort Liability, Auto-Owners Ins. Co., Branch Claims Office, 1993
Slip, Trip, Fall and Sue, Nuts and Bolts of a Slip and Fall Case -  Defense, ICLEF, 1990

Published: Book Chapter

Railroads. 3 Indiana Practitioner Series, Personal Injury and Torts, Lawyers
Cooperative Publishing, 1996

Professional License/Involvement 
 
Admitted to bar, 1967, State of Indiana, United States District Courts, Northern and Southern Districts, Indiana; United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit 
Peer Review Rating, AV Rated.  

Memberships and Fellowships

St. Joseph County Bar Association (Member, Board of Governors, 1975-1979)
Indiana State Bar Association (Member, Board of Managers, 1988-1990, Trial Section)
The Seventh Circuit Bar Association
National Lawyers Association
Defense Research Institute;
Diplomate, Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (Member, Board of  Directors, 1996-1998)
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Indiana Trial Lawyers Association
Robert A. Grant Inn of Court (Emeritus; President, 1997-1999)
Fellow, Indiana Bar Foundation (2000 - present)