Derek Molter is a partner in the Firm’s Litigation, Appellate and Food & Agribusiness Practice Groups.
His Litigation practice focuses on representing both individuals and businesses with commercial, products liability and trade secrets disputes in state and federal courts around the country. His clients include a wide variety of businesses, from small startup companies to Fortune 500 companies, in myriad industries, including the alcoholic beverage, agricultural manufacturing, private equity, energy, data analytics, construction, insurance and consumer reviews industries.
Derek’s Appellate practice has a similar focus, and he has handled dozens of appeals in state and federal courts around the country involving issues including the constitutionality of federal, state and local laws; trade secret protections; the enforcement of non-compete agreements; wage payment claims; tortious interference with business and employment relationships; insurance coverage disputes; alleged wrongful death and personal injury liability; judicial review of administrative decisions; guardianship and trust disputes; and defamation. He is the Representative for District Number 2 to the Indiana State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section.
Derek’s Food & Agribusiness practice has focused on the defense of product manufacturers against wrongful death and personal injury claims. He has represented equipment manufacturers against claims that their products caused injury or property damage. Related, prior to joining Ice Miller in 2013, Derek was an attorney in Washington, D.C. at an Am Law 100 firm where his practice included the representation of a consumer products company in defending against thousands of personal injury cases in state and federal courts following the decertification of a class action. He has been around agribusiness his entire life. He grew up on a small cattle farm in Newton County, Ind. Derek was a member of the FFA and 4-H; and his summer jobs growing up included bailing hay and cleaning horse stalls.
Derek graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. in 2004, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and philosophy, with high distinction. He attended law school at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, receiving his juris doctor, magna cum laude, in 2007. There, he served as the executive notes and comments editor for Indiana Law Journal. He was also a law clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and for the Honorable Theresa Springmann with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.