The Indiana Bar Foundation bestows its Legend Award annually, recognizing an individual who furthers civic education and legal assistance for Hoosiers.
Timothy Abeska is this year’s Legend Award honoree. He received the award for his volunteerism, advocacy and support of the Indiana Bar Foundation’s mission. Abeska served on the Foundation’s board of directors from 2008 to 2012 and 2019 to 2025.
“Receiving the Legend Award is admittedly a great honor,” Abeska said in a press release. “It shows that retirement is the beginning of great new things, and being involved with the Foundation has given me the chance to drive change and be part of a dynamic organization dedicated to helping people.”
Born and raised in Detroit, Abeska attended Notre Dame Law School.
“Attending Notre Dame Law School was the seminal event in my life because it brought me to Indiana, where I met my wife, Mary Ann, where I practiced law and where I formed lifelong friendships with law classmates and professional colleagues,” Abeska said.
The trajectory of Abeska’s life changed in 2015 when his wife was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“The ALS experience changed me at a molecular level,” Abeska said. “It allowed me to see that my career and other things that I used to give priority weren’t as meaningful as things such as presence, love and helping others. It was this realization that allowed me to rebuild my life and reinvent myself as a serial volunteer who gets satisfaction out of living a life of service to others.”
Abeska serves as on four nonprofit boards and as a volunteer advocate with an organization called I AM ALS. He will be the first board chair of Indiana Legal Help when the organization spins off of the Indiana Bar Foundation and becomes an independent nonprofit July 1.
Abeska said that many people have inspired him, including David Link of the Notre Dame Law School, colleagues at Barnes & Thornburg, volunteer lawyers who represent clients pro bono, his late wife and his current partner.
“But I’m most inspired by my friends in the ALS community who are living with this cruel disease but never give up, and help others in face of their own adversity,” Abeska said.
