News Archive
IU McKinney Honors Charles R. Dunlap, '96, Students for Pro Bono Work at 'Good Reception'
05/02/2019
Charles R. Dunlap, Executive Director of the Indiana Bar Foundation, was honored for his work on behalf of the public good at the second annual "Good Reception" at IU McKinney. A total of 54 law students also were celebrated for their over 13,000 hours of pro bono service throughout their time in law school. The event took place April 23 in the atrium at Inlow Hall.
Dunlap is a 1996 honors graduate of IU McKinney. He has served as the Executive Director of the Indiana Bar Foundation for 18 years. The organization provides civic education to Hoosiers of all ages, assists those who have difficulty accessing the justice system, and strives to improve the legal profession as a whole. Dunlap has been instrumental in administering Indiana’s grant-making process for supporting attorney pro bono efforts throughout the state.
Dunlap serves as a member of, and oversees the operations of, the Indiana Coalition for Court Access, the entity that coordinates all Supreme Court-related programs designed to provide civil legal aid to those with limited financial resources. He serves as director of Indiana’s Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account program, managing the program on behalf of the Indiana Supreme Court. Additionally, he led the development of a statewide, online pro bono website called “Indiana Free Legal Answers” to help leverage technology to assist low-income Hoosiers with their civil legal needs. Civic education programs he administers include the "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution Program, which promotes civic competence and responsibility among Indiana's elementary, middle, and high school students; the Indiana Mock Trial program, the United States Senate Youth program; and the Indiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council. Dunlap also is active in many other civic organizations, and traveled to Ft. Meade and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of the law school's Program in International Human Rights Law's Military Commission Observation Project.
IU McKinney 3L Harmon Lian received the John Paul Berlon Service Award, in recognition of his more than 600 hours of pro bono service during his law school studies. Lian began serving at the Marion County Prosecutor's Office after his first year of law school. He moved with his family from Burma when he was 13, and graduated from the University of Nebraska with honors before entering law school. Lian's goal has always been to become an attorney, and he wants to serve the Burmese community. Indianapolis has the largest population of Burmese people in the United States, making IU McKinney a natural choice for law school.
In the photo from left are Charles R. Dunlap and Harmon Lian.
