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Twelve alumni from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law have been named to Indiana Lawyer’s 2021 Leadership in Law class of honorees. Professor Joel Schumm, ’98, was named a Distinguished Barrister and he was joined on the list by two other alumni. Whittley Pike, ’14, Senior Associate Director for Professional Development, was named to the Up and Coming Lawyer list and she was joined by six other alumni. In addition, both honorees chosen for the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award are IU McKinney alumni.

Professor Joel Schumm (in the photo at right) is a magna cum laude graduate of the law school. Professor Schumm spent three years in judicial clerkships after completing his legal education and might have turned this experience into a lucrative career in private practice, but he instead returned to his alma mater to focus his considerable talents on educating law students. At IU McKinney, Professor Schumm directs the Judicial Externship Program, which places approximately 80 students each year with state and federal judges in trial and appellate courts in Central Indiana and beyond. In addition, he directs IU McKinney’s Supporting Rural Justice Initiative, a program that is a partnership between the law school and the Indiana Supreme Court. He also oversees the Appellate Clinic, which routinely wins cases on behalf of its clients. Clinic students work under the supervision of a licensed attorney. This effort not only benefits the individuals of limited means who need legal representation, but also sends law students into their careers with courtroom experience, often a win, to their credit before they’ve even taken the bar exam.

In addition to his teaching, Professor Schumm is the kind of lawyer other attorneys turn to when the stakes are at their highest. He has prepared countless attorneys by assisting with moot arguments or consulting on litigation strategies, has written numerous successful amicus briefs, and is known for all his work aimed at making the profession better. In addition, he is a favorite among media members for his willingness to share his expertise for news stories.

Professor Schumm was honored by the Indianapolis Bar Association with its President’s Award in 2015 for Service to the Profession, and the IBA presented him with the Dr. John Morton Finney Jr. Award for Excellence in Legal Education in 2012. He received the Indiana State Bar Association’s Presidential Citation in 2014 and 2017, and the ISBA’s Appellate Practice Section honored him with the David M. Hamacher Service Award in 2014.

Professor Schumm received Indiana University’s Trustees Teaching Award in 2005, 2014, and 2019. For his university service, he received IU McKinney’s Faculty Leadership Award in 2010 and 2019, and the IU W. George Pinnell Award for Distinguished Service in 2013. He received IU McKinney’s Dean’s Fellowship in 2006, 2007, and 2018.

Pike’s greatest strengths lie in her boundless positive enthusiasm and in her creative, fresh approach to helping people. (Pike is in the above photo at left.) Not long into her tenure at her alma mater, she implemented alterations to a successful and beloved program and launched a new means of reaching students. The pandemic has not slowed Pike’s efforts to guide students toward determining their career paths. Instead, she utilized the time to work with her colleagues to launch a podcast aimed at coaching students as they determine the best means of launching themselves into the practice of law.

Not many people would undertake a massive overhaul of an already successful program in their first six months in a new job, but that’s precisely what Whittley Pike did. The IU McKinney Job Fair was founded in 2013 and has enjoyed success in the intervening years. That success didn’t prevent IU McKinney’s Office of Professional Development from reimagining it in time for the eighth event in February 2020, a mere seven months into Pike’s time working at the law school. Retitled A.C.E. it!, or Advancing Career Exploration, the effort took student and employer input from previous events into consideration and revamped the event. In preparation for the program in 2020, students took part in breakout sessions based upon the area of legal practice they were the most interested in. This offered students a high level of confidence when they talked to potential employers at the A.C.E. it! event. Students also took part in a mock cocktail reception during which they were given examples of how to network and craft an elevator pitch and were instructed in how to prepare for the event and how to follow-up with potential employers. In addition, Pike administers the formal recruiting events at IU McKinney, including the on-campus interview program. She migrated the entire on-campus interview program online in 2020 and facilitated 111 students taking part in 286 interviews over five days.

Others in the Distinguished Barrister category include:

Ronald Katz, ’83, is a co-founding partner of Katz Korin Cunningham, where he leads the firm’s tax, estate, and business succession planning practices. He’s also active working with clients involved in real estate development statewide. Katz has served as president of the boards of the Indianapolis Fringe Theatre and the Jewish Community Center Association of Indianapolis.

Brian Zoeller, ’96, is a partner at Cohen & Malad, where he is chair of the family law practice group. Zoeller has served as a guardian ad litem and trained people to serve through Kid’s Voice of Indiana. He also serves Marion County courts as an advocate on behalf of children alleged to be at risk due to abuse or neglect. He was honored for his work in this area with the Heartland Pro Bono Award and the IBA Pro Bono Volunteer Award.

Others in the Up and Coming Lawyer category include:

Hae Lee Cho, ’13, is an attorney at Kid’s Voice of Indiana. Cho also has served as an attorney at the Marion County Public Defender Agency. She volunteers with National Reunification Month, which is an opportunity to celebrate families that successfully achieve reunification through the child welfare system. Volunteers hope to expand the event statewide in 2022.

Katie Dickey, ’19, is an associate in the litigation and dispute resolution group at Dentons in the Indianapolis office. Prior to attending law school, she took part in Teach for America where she taught middle school for three years in Phoenix. She serves as a mentor for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Indiana and is chair corps volunteer with Joni and Friends.

Amber Finley, ’11, is associate general counsel at Health and Hospital Corporation of Indianapolis. Finley is a member of the Indiana State Psychology Board, serves as board chair of the Marion County Bar Association, is a board member of the Indiana Bar Foundation, and is a board member at large of the Junior League of Indianapolis. She also is a leadership fellow of The Exchange at the Indianapolis Urban League.

Julian Harrell, ’12, is an associate at Faegre Drinker’s Indianapolis office, where he works in the environmental law area. Harrell is a past president of the Marion County Bar Association and took part in the IndyBar Leader Series Class XIV. He has served as a board member of the Indiana Repertory Theatre since 2019 and is a past chair and emeritus board member of Sapphire Theatre Company.

Sarah Jones, ’14, is a senior associate at Krieg DeVault in the firm’s Carmel office. Jones concentrates her practice in a blend of corporate and real estate transactions. She began her career in public accounting and while she enjoyed it, said she realized it was not her lifelong dream. She enrolled in law school after talking with friends and others in the legal profession.

Andrea Townsend, ’13, is an associate at Plews Shadley Racher & Braun where she practices environmental law and landowner liability, commercial real estate, insurance coverage, complex litigation, and business law. Townsend is a board member of the Hillsborough Community Association, on the planning committee of the Windy 500 Regatta for the Indianapolis Sailing Club, serves as a judge for IU McKinney’s Robert H. Staton Intramural Moot Court Competition, as a judge for the We the People competition, and as a volunteer for the Ask-A-Lawyer program.

Susan Brooks, ’85, (left) and Lacy Johnson, ’81, (right) received Indiana Lawyer’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award during the event.

Brooks represented Indiana’s 5^th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee, as chair of the House Ethics Committee, as co-chair of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus and as a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

Prior to her service in Congress, Brooks was general counsel and senior vice president for workforce and economic development at Ivy Tech Community College. In 2001, she was appointed U. S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana by President George W. Bush, serving six years at that post. She also has worked in the Government Services Practice Group at Ice Miller and served two years as deputy mayor of Indianapolis under Mayor Stephen Goldsmith. Brooks began her career as a criminal defense lawyer, working for 13 years with the law firm McClure, McClure and Kammen.

Brooks has been appointed as a distinguished scholar and ambassador at large at IU McKinney. Among her various roles, Brooks co-teaches a course on law and leadership with former dean and Paul E. Beam Professor of Law Andrew R. Klein.

Johnson is a partner in Taft Law’s Public Affairs Strategies Group and partner-in-charge of the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. He served on the Biden-Harris transition team, was a member of Vice President Harris’s Midwest finance team and is a trusted advisor and supporter of many Congressional Black Caucus leaders and members.

Prior to his private legal practice, Johnson served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Indiana State Police and was a Lieutenant Commander of the U.S. Naval Intelligence Reserves. He served as the 7th District chairman of the Indiana State Democratic Party and as a delegate for the National Democratic party. He is also the past president of the Indianapolis Airport Authority.

Johnson was named to Lawyers of Color’s inaugural Nation’s Best List in 2019, was listed among Who’s Who in Black Indianapolis in 2018, and has been named a Sagamore of the Wabash, among many other honors. He received the Cornerstone Award from Indiana University and the IU Foundation during the Partners in Philanthropy Awards in 2018.

Both Brooks and Johnson serve on IU McKinney’s Board of Visitors. Brooks was named the law school's Outstanding Alumna of the Year in 2006. Johnson received Indiana University’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2014. It is IU’s highest award given only to alumni. He received IU McKinney’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016.