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When Family Law Collides with Criminal Charges: Attorney Marc Lopez Presents at the 2025 ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference

by | Jun 10, 2025 | Child Custody, Criminal Charges, Defenses to Criminal Charges, Domestic Battery, Domestic Violence, DUI, Family Law, Firm Update, General, No Contact Order, OVWI, Press Release, Protection Order

On June 7, 2025, Attorney Marc Lopez co-presented at the Indiana State Bar Association’s Solo & Small Firm Conference, leading a CLE session titled:
 What You Don’t Know Can Kill Your Case: The Intersection of Family and Criminal Law.

Co-presenting alongside Attorney Patricia McKinnon—a legend in Indiana family law—the two attorneys unpacked the many ways criminal cases and family law proceedings can overlap, collide, and blow up in your face if you’re not careful.

What’s a Criminal Lawyer Doing in a Family Law CLE?

Let’s be clear: the Marc Lopez Law Firm does not handle family law cases. We’re a criminal defense & injury firm. But here’s the thing—you can’t do criminal defense in Indiana without running into family law.

Whether it’s a DUI that triggers a custody hearing, a domestic battery case tied to a divorce, or a protective order that makes parenting time impossible, criminal lawyers are routinely pulled into family law issues whether we like it or not. And when you don’t know the rules of that arena, you can do real harm to your client’s position.

That’s why Attorney Marc Lopez was proud to share practical strategies for defense lawyers who suddenly find themselves ankle-deep in civil protective orders, CHINS cases, and custody disputes.

Attorney Marc Lopez & co-presenter Patricia McKinnon

The Big Takeaway: These Cases Don’t Exist in a Vacuum

When criminal defense attorneys fail to consider the ripple effects of their advice, they can unintentionally sabotage their clients’ family law cases.

Here are just a few issues Marc Lopez and Patricia McKinnon addressed:

  • Can you tell your client to plead the 5th in a family court hearing?
  • What happens when a civil protective order overlaps with a no-contact order in a criminal case?
  • How can you defend a client from criminal contempt for unpaid child support?
  • What does a CHINS finding do to your pending criminal case?
  • Should you finish the divorce now—or wait until after the criminal case resolves?

Sometimes the best strategy is to delay. Sometimes it’s to move fast. The trick is knowing how to keep the criminal case from poisoning the family court—and vice versa.

Real-World Scenarios, Real Risks

The presentation included detailed hypotheticals—straight from the trenches—on how bad things can get:

  • A father facing felony voyeurism charges while mid-divorce
  • Protective orders that sever all communication, even between business partners
  • CHINS findings that get trotted out in criminal court to prove “bad parenting”
  • Civil PO hearings doubling as free depositions for the State

And yes—one spouse testifying against the other is fair game in many of these scenarios. As Marc Lopez pointed out, spousal privilege isn’t a magic wand, and knowing when it applies is the difference between a client walking free and one sitting in jail.

A Well-Attended CLE on a Saturday Morning? Must’ve Hit a Nerve.

The ISBA Solo & Small Firm Conference draws attorneys from all over Indiana, and this year’s event at French Lick was packed. Despite being scheduled early on a Saturday, the session was packed—a clear sign that this topic is hitting home with practitioners across the state.

Attorney Marc Lopez was honored to share the stage with Attorney McKinnon and to bring a criminal defense perspective to a room full of attorneys trying to protect their clients from legal whiplash.

Serving Central Indiana—Where Criminal and Family Law Often Collide

The Marc Lopez Law Firm is proud to serve clients facing criminal charges in Central Indiana, including:

We don’t practice family law—but we work hard to make sure your criminal case doesn’t destroy your custody, your parenting time, or your financial future.

If you’re facing criminal charges that overlap with a family law matter, don’t go it alone.

Call the Marc Lopez Law Firm at 317-632-3642.
 And remember—always plead the 5th.

Attorney Marc Lopez presents at the Indiana State Bar Association’s Solo & Small Firm Conference