Your Future Deserves Experienced and Highly Effective Family Law Counsel
Biography
Lauren E. Harpold (she/her/hers) is a Partner at Ruppert & Schaefer, P.C, where she practices almost exclusively in the area of family law. Lauren is a Certified Family Law Specialist, as certified by the Family Law Certification Board. She is also a registered domestic relations mediator, Parenting Coordinator, registered Guardian ad Litem, and a trained Collaborative Law professional. After her admission to the practice of law in 2011, Lauren was employed for four years as the Senior Deputy Law Clerk to Chief Judge Nancy H. Vaidik of the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Lauren received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University. She graduated cum laude from Hofstra University School of Law, where she was a Child and Family Advocacy Fellow and the recipient of the William Eric Goldberg Scholarship. She also served as the Managing Editor of Volume 49 of the Family Court Review, the quarterly journal of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.
Lauren is a member of the Indianapolis and Hamilton County Bar Associations.
Practice Areas
- Family Law 95%
- Wills and Estate Planning 5%
Past Positions
- Senior Deputy Law Clerk to Chief Judge Nancy H. Vaidik, August 2011 - July 2015
Education
- Hofstra University School of Law, Hempstead, New York
- J.D. - 2011
- Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
- B.S. - 2008
- Major: Special Education
Professional Associations
- IndyBar Association Board of Directors, Large member, 01/2011 to 01/2023
- Indianapolis Bar Association, IndyBar Family Law Executive Committee, 2011 to Present
- Hamilton County Bar Association, 2015 to Present
- Association of Family Conciliation of Courts (AFCC)
- IndyBar Family Law Executive Committee, Large Member, 01/2011 to 01/2023
- Central Indiana Association of Collaborative Professionals, Member, 01/2012 to 01/2023
- Indianapolis Bar Foundation, Board of Directors
Certified Legal Specialties
- Certified Family Law Specialist, Family Law Certification Board
Current Employment Positions
- Partner
Bar Admissions
- Indiana, 2011
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, 2014
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana, 2014
Honors
- Selected to Rising Stars: 2023 – 2024
- Selected to Super Lawyers: 2026
Published Works
- Consultant Conduct in Anticipation of a Child Custody Evaluation: Ethical and Social Dilemmas and the Need for Neutral Parent Education, 49 Fam. Ct. Rev. 155 (2011)
Representative Cases
- M.S. v. M.J., 211 N.E.3d 522 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023)
- Wiesemann v. Wiesemann, 213 N.E.3d 1045 (Ind. Ct. App. 2023)
- Matter of Adoption of H.H., 202 N.E.3d 412 (Ind. Ct. App. 2022)
- L.B. v. M.B., 149 N.E.3d 680 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020)
- L.B. v. M.B., 138 N.E.3d 994 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019)
- Overly v. Overly, 79 N.E.3d 1012 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017)
- J.S. v. W.K., 62 N.E.3d 1 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016)
- Krom v. Krom, 272 N.E.3d 1005 (Ind. Ct. App. 2025)
- Herron v. Brooks, 2026 WL 685368 (Ind. Ct. App. 2026)