Mark Torma, former executive director of the Volunteer Lawyer Network in South Bend, was appointed executive director of the Indiana Legal Help.
The hub for self-help legal resources became an independent nonprofit this month. It was a program of the Indiana Bar Foundation since its was created in 2018.
Torma most recently was the North Central Indiana office director and senior managing attorney with Pro Bono Indiana since its founding in 2020. Before that, he led the Volunteer Lawyer Network in South Bend starting in 2011.
“The work of Indiana Legal Help has grown and flourished while we've been part of the Indiana Bar Foundation, and now we are ready to take the next step towards ensuring that every Hoosier has equal access to legal resources that meet their needs,” Torma said in a press release. “We are quite grateful for all the support that the Indiana legal community has given us so far, and we look forward to contributing even more to our collective mission.”
Torma is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota Law School. He also is the National Association of Pro Bono Professionals' board treasurer.
Indiana Legal Help, which has new headquarters in Indianapolis, was created in 2018 to connect residents with free and low-cost, noncriminal legal information.
Its board will include:
- Chair: Timothy Abeska, Of Counsel (Retired), Barnes & Thornburg LLP
- Chair-Elect: Judy Okenfuss, Ice Miller LLP (Retired)
- Treasurer: Caryn Glawe, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
- Secretary: Marilyn Smith, Consultant
- Hon. Thomas Felts, Senior Judge, Indiana Office of Court Services
- Hon. Melissa S. May, Indiana Court of Appeals
- Hon. Stephen E. Scheele, Indiana Court of Appeals
- David Van Gilder, Partner, Fletcher Van Gilder LLP
- James Watson, Partner, Ice Miller LLP
