Attorney Profiles

Robert A. Schembs
Indianapolis, Indiana

Attorneys agree that jury trials are the crucibles in which great litigation skills are born. Lawyers who have only done family law work have not had the opportunity for this jury trial experience, as parties to such cases as divorce, child custody, adoptions, paternity, guardianships, and other family-related matters are not entitled to a jury trial in Indiana. Having tried over one hundred jury trials, as well as many hundreds of trials to the Judge, Bob Schembs brings over thirty years of true litigation experience into helping his clients in family law, certainly the most emotionally difficult of all legal areas.

Raised on a farm in northern Indiana and graduated with honors from Purdue University, Bob was awarded his Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University in 1977, and had concentrated study in plain language legal writing during his final law school year. Bob’s first legal work was with the Indiana Legislative Services Agency, where he served as staff counsel for both the House Courts and Criminal Code and House Judiciary Committees. In that position, he literally drafted many of the laws that he would later argue in court.

As a deputy prosecutor for Marion County (Indianapolis), he was involved in creating one of the first programs in the state to focus on the unique difficulties in cases involving domestic violence. He also was in charge of screening and filing all serious drug cases in the county, and  tried major felonies of all types, including white collar crimes, spousal abuse, drunk driving fatalities, and murders.

Bob was assistant chief counsel for the Marion County Welfare Department (now Division of Child Services), litigating many Children in Need of Services (CHINS) cases and working to establish improved and more thorough procedures in this important and under served area.

For most of  the past twenty years, Bob’s practice has been concentrated in the areas of family law and criminal law. He has defended clients on allegations including child abuse, felony failure to pay child support, neglect of a dependent, and international child kidnaping, in both state and federal court, and throughout the state of Indiana.  He has fought for custody for mothers, fathers, and grandparents, and has litigated guardianships and contested adoptions. Bob’s clients have included parents and foster parents in legal conflict with State for taking their children, parents wishing to terminate their rights to adopted children, and parents trying to prevent their parental rights from being terminated. He has dealt with family law issues between parties from different states and from different countries. And, of course, he has helped his clients with a great many divorces.

Today, in association with Kathleen Sweeney, with whom he has worked frequently throughout most of his career, Schembs Sweeney Law brings over fifty years of combined legal experience to the courtroom..