2014
Photo of Jeff R. Hawkins taken for the Indiana State Bar Association's Res Gestae magazine.
1983
Photo of Jeff Hawkins in his Sullivan High School football uniform
1984
Newspaper photo of Jeff Hawkins wrestling in his senior year at Sullivan High School.
1984
Jeff Hawkins's Senior photo for the Sullivan High School yearbook
Photo of Sullivan High School's Golden Arrow Singers performing in the school's 1984 Spring Show
1986
A photo of Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins at Indiana University before their marriage
2018
Selfie photo of Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins during a visit to their alma mater, the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law on the University of Louisville campus.
2001
Photo of Jennifer and Jeff Hawkins when they opened their law practice in Sullivan, Indiana
2014
Photo of Jennifer and Jeff Hawkins a few weeks before Jeff's Indiana State Bar Association presidency
2015
Photo of Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins on the "Ledge" at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois
2011
Photo of the Indiana State Bar Association's Board of Governors at the Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana
1983
Photo of Jeff Hawkins in his Sullivan High School football uniform
1984
Sullivan Daily Times article about Sullivan High School's 1984 Spring Show
1984
Newspaper photo of Jeff Hawkins wrestling in his senior year at Sullivan High School.
1984
Jeff Hawkins's Senior photo for the Sullivan High School yearbook
1986
A photo of Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins at Indiana University before their marriage
2001
Photo of Jennifer and Jeff Hawkins when they opened their law practice in Sullivan, Indiana
2011
Photo of the Indiana State Bar Association's Board of Governors at the Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis, Indiana
2014
Photo of Jennifer and Jeff Hawkins a few weeks before Jeff's Indiana State Bar Association presidency
2015
Photo of Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins on the "Ledge" at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois
2016
A photo of Jennifer and Jeff Hawkins at the West Baden Hotel in West Baden, Indiana, during an Indiana State Bar Association function
2018
Selfie photo of Jeff and Jennifer Hawkins during a visit to their alma mater, the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law on the University of Louisville campus.
Photo of Sullivan High School's Golden Arrow Singers performing in the school's 1984 Spring Show
(Report of outgoing Indiana State Bar Association Presiden...)
Report of outgoing Indiana State Bar Association President Jeff R. Hawkins to the Association's House of Delegates
https://isbaprez.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/2015-annual-report-of-the-president-of-the-indiana-state-bar-association/
2015
("Own it," President's Perspective, P. 5)
"Own it," President's Perspective, P. 5
https://issuu.com/res_gestae/docs/rg_10-14
2014
Jeff Ray Hawkins, born in 1966 in Sullivan, Indiana, United States, is the elder son of Jerry Ray and Rita Jo Hawkins. In 1987, Jeff married Jennifer J. (Hunley) Hawkins, eldest child of Robert E. and Susan Hunley, of Dugger, Indiana, United States. Jeff and Jennifer have one daughter, Erin E. Hawkins, who was born in 1997 in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. Jeff and Jennifer are members, and Jeff is an elder, of the Westside Church of Christ in Sullivan, Indiana, United States.
Jeff is a 1984 graduate of Sullivan High School, in Sullivan, Indiana, United States, where he competed in wrestling and football, and sang bass in concert choir and the Golden Arrow Singers.
Sullivan County connections brought Jeff together with Jennifer after their freshman year at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. The couple married during their fourth year of college in 1987, while Jeff was finishing his studies in corporate finance at the Kelley School of Business and Jennifer studied music education degree with a double emphasis in band and choir at the Jacobs School of Music.
The Hawkins graduated from their respective schools at Indiana University in 1988, and enrolled the following year
in the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, in Louisville, Kentucky. Jeff and Jennifer graduated from law school with the degree of Juris Doctor in 1992 and passed the Indiana Bar Exam later that year.
Jeff Hawkins is a lawyer admitted to practice in Indiana and Illinois. His legal career began in partnership with Jennifer and their mentor, John Rowe, in the Jasonville law firm of Rowe & Hawkins in 1992. The firm represented banks, schools, cities, towns, a hospital, and many individuals, families, and small businesses. Jeff's early practice included commercial and municipal law, but he gradually refined his focus on elder law, trusts and estates, and business law.
Jeff and Jennifer moved the practice from Jasonville to Sullivan in 2001 when they continued their refinement of practice into elder law, trusts and estates, and business law as Hawkins & Hawkins LLC. The firm reorganized its legal structure and tradename in 2003 as Hawkins Law PC. Elder law has become the firm's principal focus in recent years, so the firm revised its tradename in 2019 to practice as Hawkins Elder Law.
The Hawkins' early emphasis on trust and estate law led them to pursue certification as trust and estate specialists. Jeff became a Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyer in 2007, and Jennifer received the same specialty certification in 2010. The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel elected Jeff as an Indiana Fellow in 2011.
Both lawyers are members of the Indiana State Bar Association's Elder Law and Probate, Trust & Real Property sections and the Indiana Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Jeff is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association's Business Law Section; the Illinois State Bar Association's Business Advice & Financial Planning, Elder Law, Real Estate Law, and Trusts & Estates Sections; and the Illinois NAELA Chapter.
Jeff was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2012.
Served on the Indiana State Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Council 1993-00, and served as chair of the Section 1997-98.
Served on the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Form, ink (ICLEF) Board of Directors 1997-98.
Served on the Indiana State Bar Association Board of Governors 1996-98, 2006-10, and 2012-16.
Certified as a Trust & Estate Specialty Board Certified Indiana Trust & Estate Lawyer in 2007.
Martindale-Hubbell peer-review rated AV since 2007 (Martindale.com).
Elected Chair of the Indiana State Bar Association House of Delegates in 2009.
Served as Chair of the Indiana State Bar Association's Probate, Trust & Real Property Section 2009-10.
Served as Co-Chair of the Trust & Estate Specialty Board 2010-13.
Elected as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 2011.
Elected Indiana State Bar Association General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section's GP Hall of Fame in 2011.
Recognized as a "Super Lawyer" in Indianapolis Monthly Magazine (Thomson Reuters), 2011-16, and 2019 – Present.
Served on the Indiana Bar Foundation Board of Directors 2012-13.
5-star client-review rated with 10 AVVO rating since 2013 or earlier.
Elected Vice President of the Indiana State Bar Association in 2012, and served as the Association's President 2014-15.
(Report of outgoing Indiana State Bar Association Presiden...)
2015(Trusted for more than a century and written by experience...)
2021(“Professional Liability Insurance Coverage: Setting the R...)
2015(“Partnership – It Can Be Bigger Than You Think,” Presiden...)
2015(“Problems? Become Part of the Solution!” President’s Pers...)
2015(“Indiana Lawyers, United and Strong,” President’s Prospec...)
2015("Let's Talk About Lawyer Mental Health," President's Pers...)
2015(“Entrepreneurial Leadership,” President’s Prospective, pp...)
2015("Those Were the Days?" President's Perspective, P. 5)
2015("Adapt & Overcome," President's Perspective, P. 5)
2014("A Force of One," President's Perspective, P. 5)
2014("Own it," President's Perspective, P. 5)
2014Jeff is an elder of the Westside Church of Christ. He teaches adult and children classes and shares responsibility for preaching and pastoral care with his co-elder Wesley W. Bedwell Jr.
Years of serving as counsel to Republican and Democrat officials elected to city and county government offices led Jeff to maintain a publicly apolitical stance. The resulting perspective is that officeholders and candidates seek election to serve the greater good of their fellow citizens, and the citizens should respect the offices held by successful candidates, regardless of whether citizens agree with officeholders' particular policies or positions.
Jeff is a member of multiple national, state, and local professional associations. Although he participates most actively in the Indiana State Bar Association (President, 2014-15), Jeff is also a participating member of several other general and substantive law organizations related to his geographic and substantive practice elements.
President: 2014-15; Board of Governors: 1996-98, 2006-10, & 2012-16; House of Delegates: Chair 2009-10; Probate, Trust & Real Property Section, Chair, 2009-10; Elder Law Section, Member; Agricultural Law Section, Member; and GP, Solo & Small Firm Section, Member. Other ISBA Groups: Trust & Estate Specialty Board (Co-Chair, 2010-13; Board Member, 2008-13)
Indiana State Bar Association , United States
October, 1992
Memberships: Business Advice and Financial Planning Section; Elder Law Section; Real Estate Law Section; and Trusts and Estates Section
Illinois State Bar Association , United States
2013
Member of Indiana and Illinois Chapters
National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) , United States
2004
Fellow
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) , United States
2011
Terre Haute Bar Association , United States
2014
Sullivan County Bar Association , United States
2011
Most people think of Jeff as a warmly receptive person with a gregarious public personality because of his expressive public speaking style. Many of his Indiana State Bar Association colleagues and members of his church congregation are also familiar with Jeff's assertive leadership style that also embraces collaborative decision-making and careful consideration of minority perspectives. Close family members and friends also know Jeff for his very soft and sentimental heart that is subject to tender emotions concerning family members, friends, colleagues, and clients. He is very passionate about maintaining close relationships within his family and his church congregation.
Married Jennifer Jean Hunley, August 8, l987.
