FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Russell H. Hart Honored for 50 Years of Legal Service

Lafayette, Indiana – May 26, 2006 – The Tippecanoe County Bar Association has honored Stuart & Branigin LLP senior counsel Russell H. Hart for achieving 50 years in the practice of law.

In an official resolution read at the bar association’s annual Law Day dinner on May 1, Hart was recognized for exemplifying “a life dedicated to service, the law, the courts, his clients and fellow man.” In the words of the resolution, “Russ is admired and respected as a leader within the firm and in the many local, state and national professional and civic organizations he served.”

Law Day USA, established in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, celebrates our national heritage of liberty, justice, and equality under law.

Hart graduated from the Indiana University School of Law and joined Stuart, Devol, Branigin & Ricks (now Stuart & Branigin) in 1956. In time he headed up the firm's litigation practice and developed a highly regarded practice representing railroad companies and other clients in civil, environmental, and insurance litigation. During his career, he served as president of various legal organizations, including the Indiana State Bar Association, the Indiana Defense Lawyers Association, the Tippecanoe County Bar Association, and the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel. He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1973.

Hart retired from the active practice of law in 1999, becoming senior counsel to the firm.

Stuart & Branigin LLP has been providing legal services in Indiana since 1878. Today, the law firm has more than 30 experienced lawyers in two offices providing legal representation in such diverse areas as civil litigation and appellate matters; banking and creditors’ rights; business counseling; business transactions; buying and selling businesses; design and construction; education; employment; environmental; estates and trusts; health care; insurance; intellectual property; international; real estate, development, and zoning; and taxation.