James W. Hehner

Jim Hehner is a partner in the law firm Clendening Johnson & Bohrer, P.C., with offices in Indianapolis and Bloomington, consisting of several litigation attorneys and paralegals. He has over thirty years of experience conducting jury trials and representing clients in both state and federal court, primarily in the areas of first party and third party insurance defense. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and his law degree from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. During law school, he was a member of the Indiana Law Review, where he served as a Note and Development Editor and was also a Moot Court participant. Jim also attended the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy, where he obtained a commission as a Police Officer, and worked as a Police Officer for several years while attending college and law school.

He is admitted to practice in Indiana, the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is the past president of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (DTCI) and is a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI). Jim has achieved the Martindale Hubbell Preeminent Peer Review Rating of "AV" (5 out of 5, the highest available) and has been named as an Indiana Super Lawyers ©, for several years. He has also received a lifetime achievement award as one of America's Top 100 Attorneys. Jim is also active in numerous other civic organizations including the Carmel Clay Public Library Board of Trustees and the Carmel Clay Public Library Foundation.

Since obtaining his law degree, Jim has been engaged in the private practice of law, practicing primarily in the area of litigation. He has been lead attorney for many jury trials and tried cases to verdict, including cases involving wrongful death, auto accidents, premises liability. His practice includes cases in both State Court and Federal Court. He has litigated hundreds of cases involving wrongful death, construction law, product liability, auto accidents, premises liability, and all types of personal injury claims. Jim has acted as an arbitrator or mediator on numerous occasions and has extensive experience in both arbitration and mediation proceedings.

In 2016 Jim was asked by Chief Justice Loretta Rush of the Supreme Court of Indiana to serve on the Indiana Civil Justice Initiative Roundtable led by Indiana Justice Geoffrey Slaughter and retired Justice Brent Dickson. The roundtable consists of a small cross section of Indiana lawyers who will make recommendations to the Supreme Court of Indiana regarding ways to improve how our courts handle civil cases.

Jim is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars and has authored or co-authored legal articles including: COVID-19 Best Practices and Procedures. What Have We Learned About How to Practice Law in a New Era, March 4, 2021, Zoom Presentation, The Tri-Parte Relationship: Attorney, Client and Insurer, Downtown Continuing Education, Inc. (2016 and 2020); Litigating and Understanding the Medical Injury, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (1995); Litigating Lumbar Spine Injuries, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (1995); Stickney 1985 Amendments to the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act 19 Ind L. Rev. 403 (1986); Hehner, Smith The Indiana Insurance Guaranty Association Act: More Problems than Protection 21 Ind. L. Rev. 207 (1988), reprinted in Indiana's Guaranty Fund for the Tort and Insurance Law Seminar, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (1988).

Specialties: Insurance Defense (first party and third party),wrongful death, construction law, product liability, agricultural claims including defective feed and other agricultural products, auto accidents, premises liability, all types of personal injury claims, business formation, and business litigation.