Marian Drenth concentrates her practice in civil litigation with an emphasis in health care litigation. Ms. Drenth's practice also includes employment law and general liability. Her experience includes representing clients through Indiana's Medical Review Panel Process, mediation and through trial. Ms. Drenth has successfully defended clients in numerous jury trials, many as first chair, in matters involving general negligence and medical malpractice claims. These matters include successfully defending physicians, hospitals and health care providers in a variety of cases. Through her experience, Ms. Drenth is able to offer her clients a well-rounded defense that includes not only thorough trial preparation, but also preventative counseling. Ms. Drenth speaks at in-house seminars for health care providers regarding preventative tools to assist in risk management. In addition to her health law practice, Ms. Drenth represents clients in employment law matters. Her experience includes counseling and assisting clients with employment law issues, including ADA, FMLA and claims before the EEOC.

Ms. Drenth is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, the Porter County Inns of Court, and Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana (DTCI). Ms. Drenth currently serves on the Board of Directors for DTCI. Before serving on the Board of Directors for DTCI, she served as Vice Chair of the Health Law Section. Ms. Drenth is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. The American Bar Foundation is an organization of lawyers, judges, law faculty and legal scholars who have been elected by their peers to become members of The Fellows because of their outstanding achievements in the legal profession. Membership in The Fellows is limited to one third of one percent of the lawyers in America. She served as a board member of Porter County Inns of Court from 2006 – 2010 and was president of the Porter County Inns of Court from June 2009 – June 2010. During her term on the board, the Porter County Inns of Court was awarded the 2009 Circle of Excellence Distinction from the American Inns of Court, an honor awarded to only a select few.

Representative Trials and Appellate Decisions

Throughout her career, Marian Has tried over 25 jury trials, most resulting in verdicts in favor of her client.

In 2012, Ms. Drenth tried the following jury case to verdict:

Dallas v. Ylagan, Porter Circuit Court, Valparaiso, Indiana, September 24-28, 2012. Defense Verdict.

Publications and Presentations

Ms. Drenth has authored:

"Protection of Drug and Alcohol Treatment Records" published in The Indiana Lawyer, Volume 23, November 7, June 8-21, 2012.

Ms. Drenth has given multiple presentations to healthcare clients on risk management. In addition, she has given the following presentations:

DTCI conference: "Effective Direct Examination Techniques for Presentation of Expert Witness," November 2012.

"Opening Statement Strategies," DTCI 18th Annual Conference and Meeting, French Lick, Indiana, November 17, 2011.

"Practical Applications of the Stanley v. Walker Opinion," DTCI 17th Annual Conference and Meeting, Michigan City, Indiana, November 18, 2010.

Professional Background

Ms. Drenth gained was invited to join O’Neill McFadden & Willett LLP as a Partner in February 2012.  Before joining O’Neill McFadden & Willett LLP, Marian worked as an associate with Johnson & Bell, Ltd’s Indiana office from December 2008 through February 2012.  Ms. Drenth also gained invaluable litigation experience as an associate and partner at  Spangler Jennings & Dougherty, P.C. from October 2000 through November 2008.  Ms. Drenth’s professional experience includes working as a managing associate with Daniel G. Suber & Associates from 1998 through October 2000 and as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the Porter County Prosecutor’s office from 1995 through 1998.

Education

J.D., Valparaiso University School of Law, 1995
B.A., Loyola University of Chicago cum laude, 1992

Bar Admission

Admitted to the Indiana Bar, 1995
U.S. District Courts for Indiana (Northern and Southern Divisions), 1995
Indiana Supreme Court, 1995

Practice Areas

Civil Litigation
Health Care Law
Employment Law

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At O’Neill McFadden & Willett LLP, we’ve grown our firm carefully to combine the personal service of a smaller, boutique firm, with the sophistication and experience of a larger law firm.

Founded in 2010, our practice includes a staff of attorneys and paralegals who work together to provide personal services to a client list that grows larger with each passing month.