Ms. Jocham is a founding member of JOCHAM HARDEN DIMICK JACKSON, PC, where she practices in the areas of family law and civil litigation and chairs the firm’s Alternative Dispute Resolution section. Ms. Jocham is a registered domestic and civil mediator, and has focused her practice to mediation, arbitration and collaborative law. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis and her undergraduate degree from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. As an arbitrator, she served in Hamilton County’s first divorce arbitration case as part of its pilot program, which provides another alternative to families involved in divorce and related litigation.
Ms. Jocham is a member of the Hamilton County, Indianapolis, Indiana and American Bar Associations, and their family law and alternative dispute resolution sections. As a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals and the Collaborative Family Law Association of Indiana, Inc., she is involved in the development of this innovative approach to “respectful divorce.” Early in 2008, she was named a Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation and was recently elected to serve on the Indianapolis Bar Foundation’s Board of Directors for 2009. Ms. Jocham is the Hamilton County Bar Association delegate to the Indiana State Bar Association Board of Governors. She is also a member of the Sagamore American Inn of Court, the Association for Conflict Resolution, the Women in Law Division of the Indianapolis Bar Association, the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis Alumni Association. She previously served as chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution section of the Indianapolis Bar Association and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Pro Se Mediation Task Force. Ms. Jocham is also an executive committee member of the Indiana State Bar Association’s Women in Law division. In 2009 she was selected to serve on the ISBA’s Membership & Membership Benefits Committee.
She has spoken on topics of interest in the areas of family law and alternative dispute resolution, including a presentation at the 2009 Indianapolis Bench Bar Conference. Other presentations include: Hot Tips from Hot Attorneys (June 2007); Family Law Arbitration (October 2006); Pro Se Mediation - A Mediator’s Perspective (January 2006); Family Law - Beyond the Basics (December 2005) and Ethics of Pro Se, Recent Cases & A Look at Marion Superior Court (November 2005). She has also regularly served as a mediation training coach at the IU School of Law-Indianapolis since 2005. She has also appeared on several local radio and broadcast programs to discuss various issues on divorce and family law.
Ms. Jocham chose to focus her practice in family law as a result of her personal experiences with divorce, both as a child whose parents divorced when she was a teenager, and after having been a party to a divorce with a child in her adult life. She understands the emotional toll and devastating effects that contentious family law battles can have on the parties and also their children. She approaches cases with compassion and empathy, and strives to minimize conflict whenever possible. She believes that parties are often in the best position to make decisions concerning their family. She sees herself as not only an advocate, but as a problem solver helping parties reach amicable resolutions to their disputes in a manner which makes sense for their individual circumstances, as opposed to having decisions imposed on them by a court.
Ms. Jocham’s community involvement has included volunteering as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), a literacy tutor, as a courtroom advocate at a battered women’s shelter, as a volunteer for the Indianapolis Bar Association’s Ask a Lawyer and Legal Line programs and for a crisis intervention hotline. She has provided pro bono and reduced cost legal representation for clients through Heartland Pro Bono Council and the Indianapolis Bar Associations’ Modest Means Program. She served her community for several years through the Junior Leagues of Evansville and Indianapolis and also as a board member of her neighborhood association. Ms. Jocham currently serves on the National Alumnae Board of her alma mater, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and is a volunteer with Girls, Inc.
Ms. Jocham resides in Carmel with her sons.
