Since it was first established two decades ago, Lerner & Rowe Injury Attorneys has secured maximum injury settlements for over 120,000 clients in Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and the Pacific Southwest. As its attorneys fight for its clients’ rights, Lerner & Rowe continues to seek out ways to support the communities it serves.
Lerner & Rowe Gives Back, the firm's nonprofit foundation established over 10 years ago, partners with organizations throughout the country, offering support through volunteer work, donations, and event sponsorships. One of Lerner & Rowe’s most fruitful partnerships in the Region is with Humane Indiana.
Humane Indiana has a presence in 26 counties throughout the state. In 2024, Humane Indiana supported nearly 3,000 orphaned or injured undomesticated animals. It provides services to over 4,000 dogs and cats each year, offering affordable veterinary care along with fostering and adoption programs. Humane Indiana features the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center, the Shelter and Adoption Center, and the Estelle Marcus Clinic, which offers a variety of veterinary services, including low-cost spaying and neutering. The proceeds generated by Humane Indiana’s charity thrift store, PAWS Resale Plus Local Artisans, helps support the organization’s programs and services.
Ari Baiz, outreach director for Lerner & Rowe, has been involved with Humane Indiana for over a decade. She used to work for the organization and now supports it as a volunteer since joining the Lerner & Rowe team. In her view, the six-year partnership between the law firm and Humane Indiana could not be more ideal.
"We're always looking to partner with organizations whose values align with our mission of supporting the community," Baiz said. "Humane Indiana is a great organization that does just that. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has made it difficult for people to afford basic veterinary care and supplies for their pets. As a result, the rate at which animals are being abandoned at animal shelters has increased. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer of those animals are being adopted. We want to ensure that people are aware that Humane Indiana offers services that will help them keep their pets at home.”
Humane Indiana makes a point of offering its services in underserved communities like Gary, Hammond, and even East Chicago. The organization runs a Pet Food Pantry out of its Shelter and Adoption Center in Munster. The donated goods are used to provide struggling pet owners with food. The Pet Food Pantry distributes an average of 11,000 pounds of pet food among Northwest Indiana pet owners annually. This ensures that owners experiencing financial challenges can still provide their pets with healthy food.
In Baiz’s view, Humane Indiana's work does more than just benefit animals.
"Not only does Humane Indiana do fantastic work with domestic and wildlife animals, it supports the people in our communities as well," Baiz said. "That is very important to us at Lerner & Rowe. Humane Indiana has a partnership with another partner of ours, the domestic violence shelter St. Jude House. In many cases, the pets of people who are in domestic abuse situations are being abused too. As a result, the abused individuals are often afraid to leave their pets behind when they flee their situation. Humane Indiana offers a crisis foster program that ensures that the pets of St. Jude House residents are cared for while their owners get the support they need."
Lerner & Rowe has supported Humane Indiana in a variety of ways during the course of the partnership. The law firm has donated $100,000 to Humane Indiana, with $25,000 already having been donated this year. This is the second year that Lerner & Rowe have been a “multi-platinum” sponsor of Humane Indiana’s Heart of Rock and Roll Gala. This event, which kicks off Humane Indiana’s programming for the year, is held at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana. It has rapidly become one of Humane Indiana’s most popular events.
Baiz co-chaired the 2025 Gala planning committee alongside Christi Hardesty, marketing director for Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana and Humane Indiana board of directors secretary. The Heart of Rock and Roll Gala 2025 sold out, attracting a record-breaking 640 guests and raising over $300,000 dollars for Humane Indiana. At the gala, attendees could play with animals and enjoy a five-star dinner provided by the Hard Rock.
Baiz enjoys giving of her time and resources to support Humane Indiana and is pleased to see that she is not alone in this.
"Northwest Indiana is special because its residents are so community-focused," Baiz said. "Not only do we have amazing organizations in the community that are willing to offer their support, but individual residents strive to do so as well. We at Lerner & Rowe really want to spread the word about organizations like Humane Indiana because, without the support of the community, they can't continue doing their great work. The fact that Humane Indiana and other great local organizations are making such a significant impact is a testament to the amount of support the community has been giving them over the years.”
You can learn more information about Lerner & Rowe Injury Attorneys’ services by visiting lernerandrowe.com. For more information on the great work Humane Indiana is doing, please visit humaneindiana.org.