Introducing Kendra Gjerdingen, a 2021 Women Excel Bloomington Honoree

Kendra Gjerdingen has been a Partner at Mallor Grodner Attorneys for over 20 years, where her practice areas include family and appellate law. “Kendra has excelled in her profession as an attorney, in her service to those within the legal profession, and to the underserved population in her community of Monroe County and surrounding areas,” said nominator, Bonnie J. Costin.

She received her J.D., cum laude, from William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, and an M.B.A., from Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She was admitted to the Indiana Bar, in 1993. Kendra is a Certified Family Law Specialist, as certified by the Family Law Certification Board of the Indiana State Bar Association. Kendra is also a Registered Family Law Mediator. She has been named an Indiana Super Lawyer®, by Law & Politics magazine, annually since 2009, and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® in Family Law and Family Law Mediation, since 2017.

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Not only does Kendra serve the greater community of Family Law and Appellate Law attorneys through continuing legal education programs, but over the years she has also served as mentor to numerous attorneys within her own law firm. Kendra invests time in young or inexperienced attorneys, and her door is never closed to them. She guides them skillfully through their transition from law school and learning to think like a lawyer to learning to practice law. Seasoned attorneys seek her out for counsel, to weigh their arguments, and to practice their presentations. She is trusted for her wisdom and her honesty. She not only excels as a mentor to attorneys, but also to staff. She worked as a paralegal before she earned her law degree, so she is particularly aware of the situations and difficulties legal assistants and paralegals encounter day to day.

In 2013, Kendra was the recipient of the Gale Phelps Award by the Indiana State Bar Association’s Family and Juvenile Law Section. The Gale Phelps Award recognizes an attorney who has worked to elevate the standards of professionalism in the area of family law by demonstrating exceptional service to the profession, holding the highest level of competence, raising the level of professionalism and civility in domestic relations matters, and exhibiting high moral character and ethical standards.

Kendra has invested countless hours of her time into the representation of those who are underserved or who may have difficulty affording legal representation within our community. Many of those referrals come through the District 10 Pro Bono Project, which serves 10 counties in south-central Indiana. The District 10 Pro Bono Project provides legal services to indigent people who otherwise would not be able to obtain justice.

Congratulations, Kendra, on becoming a 2021 Women Excel Bloomington Honoree!