Religion 101: What's the name of a Pagan attorney in Indianapolis, Indiana?

July 18, 5:20 PMIndianapolis Pagan Issues ExaminerAndrah Wyrdfire

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http://www.willowstreasures.com

Legal help for today's Pagan

John Thrasher, a.k.a. Edwin Pendragon, is an attorney, who just happens to be Pagan.  I spoke with John recently over the telephone and got to know him a little bit better.  

Working from his home office in Indianapolis, Indiana, he's been an attorney since 1978 and a Pagan since 1993.  John follows an Eclectic Neo-Pagan path as a member of The Lair hearth of Thalia Clan where he's been a member since 1994.  When asked about his family, he informed me that his father died a few years ago; one sister knows his religion, but he hasn't spoken to the other sister in a long time.  

Specializing in General Practice, John handles an average of approximately 80 cases a year.  "General practice attorneys are considered full service lawyers and are qualified to handle cases having to do with personal injury, business dealings and mediation, family and estate planning, and litigation representation."   *http://www.findanattorney.com/general-practice.html

In regards to any possible discrimination cases, he started to help with a libel case in New York, but the statute of limitations had passed.  John has counseled people on religious discrimination in divorce, but only online.  He's represented someone who wanted a Pagan-friendly attorney in a divorce, but only because they didn't want to risk discrimination.

I was surprised to hear that he hadn't experienced any professional obstacles.  John believes that judges aren't stupid and he quoted the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_amendment, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution).  The only personal obstacle that he's faced since coming out of the closet about his religion was a young lady stating that he would have to convert to Christianity before they could start dating.  John stated that he didn't think he could respect a God who accepted him into their religion based on a lie.

When asked if he is accepting new clients, he basically stated that it depends on the case.  John's fees also vary depending on the case, but he did say that he typically avoids working on a contingency basis.  A case where an attorney works on a contingency basis is a case in which the attorney's fee is a percentage of the plaintiff's eventual compensation, payable when the case is resolved.   *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_injury.  He generally charges per hour or can work pro-bono, if it's not a terribly complicated case.  There was a case of someone who wanted a name change and John gave him a cheap rate because it was such an easy case.

The home office where he works is based in the Chapel Hill apartment complex, on the west side of Indianapolis, Indiana, off of 10th Street.  John can be contacted via either telephone or email and his advice for anyone seeking legal help is to, "Come to me early."