Judge George B. Hoffman, Jr. has been selected by the Fellows of the Indiana Bar Foundation as the recipient of the 2008 Legendary Lawyer Award. A practicing attorney for 57 years, Judge Hoffman retired from the Court of Appeals Indiana and currently serves as Senior Judge.

Judge Hoffman is an involved member of the legal community dedicating his time on the local, state and national levels. He was elected to the Appellate Court Bench in 1968. From 1972 through 1974, Judge Hoffman served as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. During his time as Chief Judge, Judge and has authored more than 3,000 majority opinions.  Judge Hoffman began the Appeals on Wheels program, which takes the Appellate oral arguments from Indianapolis to the law schools, universities, high schools and court rooms throughout Indiana.

Judge Hoffman has been invited to participate in the State-Federal Appellate Judges’ Conference in Washington, D. C., Tri-State Appellate Judges’ Seminar in East Lansing, Michigan, and was the principal speaker at the 52nd Annual Convention Indiana State Council of Carpenters. He also has addressed many bar associations and service clubs throughout the years.

Along with serving as a guest speaker, Judge Hoffman is Past President of the Hammond Bar Association and Legal Aid Society of Greater Hammond. In addition, he is a former Chairman and Board of Trustees member of the Indiana Judges’ Retirement System, Member of the American Bar Association, Member of the Indiana Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Association. His service to the Indiana State Bar Association includes serving on the House of Delegates for 30 years.

Additionally, he has been, and is currently, active in a number of community service organizations. Judge Hoffman has been active in Boy Scouts of America, American Red Cross, YMCA and Connor Prairie. In addition, he is a Member of Sigma Delta Kappa Law Fraternity and Pi Gamma Mu National Social Science Honor Society.

For his continued service to the community, Judge Hoffman received Man of the Year award from Knights of St. Peter Claver Assembly #14 in Indianapolis; a distinguished service award from the Legal Aid Society of Greater Hammond, Inc.; outstanding service award from Crown Point Community School Corporation; an award for exceptional contribution to the law profession from East Chicago Bar Association; a Sagamore of the Wabash from six Governors;award from the Indiana Judicial Center and the Indiana University Law School, Indianapolis, for developing the Indiana Judicial Center; and is the recipient of various awards from the Hammond Junior Chamber of Commerce.

During World War II, Judge Hoffman served as Combat Infantry, 102nd Infantry Division, January 1943 through April 1947. He was wounded in Germany.

Judge Hoffman will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, September 19th from noon to 2 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 1 S. Capital Avenue, Indianapolis. For more information regarding the award, contact Sandhya Graves at sgraves@courts.state.in.us or 317-694-1131.