What is an Ambassador? Ambassadors provide prospective students with insight into life as a student and graduate of the law school. Ambassadors are proud of the law school, and excited to share their experiences!
What do Ambassadors do?
• Contact targeted admitted students in your area
• Describe your experience at the school and living in Indianapolis
• Share your career path and offer to answer questions
Mark Shaw, ‘72, has written 25 books, but one of his latest, Road to a Miracle, is deeply personal.
There’s the “road” part: a happy childhood in Auburn, Indiana, college, a series of career attempts, then law school and a criminal defense practice that included work with attorney F. Lee Bailey.
Also along the road: a move to Colorado where he was frequently mistaken for John Denver, TV gigs—he’s been a legal analyst for the Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant trials—and movie deals. The book details Shaw’s first marriage, a return to Indiana, his career as a radio talk show host and an infamous run-in with IU basketball coach Bob Knight, followed by a sad, messy divorce.
Then there’s the “miracle”: A spiritual awakening, seminary, and, finally, a happy second marriage and the surprising discovery of an adult daughter and two grandchildren he never knew existed that he calls “the gift of a lifetime.”
“It was the culmination of a spiritual journey,”
Shaw says.
Shaw, who graduated from San Francisco Theological Seminary at age 60, hopes the book inspires others. But he’s already at work on books No.
25—No Peace for the Wicked, a legal thriller to be published in January—and No. 26, its sequel, Guilty Conscience.
The new novels are based on true stories, Shaw says.
Lawyers have lots of good stories to tell, Shaw says, and he plans to continue writing fiction and working as a literary consultant to others who believe they may have a book to write. All the while, he savors his law school experience. “It shaped everything in my life,” he says.
Six days a week, Shaw starts his day in his writing studio in Superior, Colorado, with his dog, Black Sox, breaking for breakfast with his wife, Wen-Ying Lu, and a walk with the dog. Although he has five portraits of his literary hero, Earnest Hemingway, in the studio, Shaw says he knows he’s not a great writer—just an inspired one.
“I just try to tell stories,” Shaw says. “I hope they are ‘stop and think’ books.”
Mark Shaw, ‘72, is a Writer and Storyteller
By Alicia Dean Carlson
1– Mark Shaw, ‘72, has written 25 books.
2– Left: Road to a Miracle, published by People’s Press and Globe Pequot, is available on Amazon. To see photos of Shaw’s new family, visit www.markshawbooks.com. Right: Shaw’s latest book, No Peace for the Wicked, will be published in January.
3– Hon. Patricia Riley, ‘74, Mary Beth Ramey, ‘72, Mark Shaw, and Nancy Belli, Melvin Belli’s wife, at a Chicago book signing for Mark’s 2006 book, Melvin Belli: King of the Courtroom.
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Class Notes
On June 30, Indiana University graduates re-elected Patrick A. Shoulders,
‘78, of Evansville, Indiana, to a fourth three- year term on the IU Board of Trustees.
Shoulders, a member of the law firm of Ziemer, Stayman, Weitzel & Shoulders in Evansville, was initially appointed as an IU trustee in 2002, and then was elected by alumni to the board again in 2005 and 2008.
“I’m honored that the alumni have given me the opportunity to serve our
beloved alma mater for another three years. IU is on a great path right now, and I pledge to work hard to continue its success,” Shoulders said. “I want to thank my opponents and encourage them to stay connected to IU and encourage all of our alumni to stay involved with the university.”
In addition to his law degree, Shoulders earned a B.A.
from IU Bloomington. He chaired the IU Alumni Association
in 2000 and has served on the Varsity Club and IU Foundation Board of Directors.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has played a leadership role in a number of professional organizations. He received the Hine Medal from IUPUI in 2005, a Sagamore of the Wabash in 1996, and the Herman Wells Leadership Award from Sigma Nu Fraternity in 2005.
In accordance with state law, the annual trustee election is conducted by the Dean of University Libraries on the Bloomington campus, with assistance from the IU Alumni Association. Library staff and students undertook the task of counting nearly 16,500 ballots.
IU has nine trustees, three of whom are elected by alumni. Law school alumna, MaryEllen Kiley Bishop, ‘82, was elected in 2010. Her term expires in 2013.
Shoulders, ‘78, Re-elected to IU Board of Trustees
2008
MATTHEW DIONNE won second place in the 52nd Annual Lincoln Award Legal Writing Contest sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association. His article was published in the June edition of the Illinois Bar Journal. He is currently clerking for Chief Judge David R. Herndon at the united States District Court of the Southern District of Illinois.
2009
KATHRyN E. OLIVIER has joined Baker & Daniels, LLP, as an associate. She focuses on business litigation in the downtown Indianapolis office.
2011
zACHARy G. JACOB has joined Baker & Daniels, LLP, as an associate.
TIMOTHy J. MORIARTy has joined Baker & Daniels, LLP, as an associate. He works with the firm’s business litigation practice group in the downtown Indianapolis office.
MINDy A. WESTRICK has joined Baker & Daniels, LLP, as an associate. She is a member of the government services practice in downtown Indianapolis.
Alumni Recognized as Best and Brightest
Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc.
selected seven alumni as finalists for the 2011 Indy’s Best and Brightest Awards. Congratulations to our young leaders!
• Richard Ellery, ‘97
• Joshua P. Hollingsworth, ‘00
• Chasity Q. Thompson, ‘02
• Kenan L. Farrell, ‘03
• Daniel Kent, ‘07
• Joel Nagle, ‘07
• Tonya Vachirasomboon, ‘08
John Krauss, ‘76 Appointed to Indiana Education Employment Relations Board
In October, Governor Mitch Daniels appointed John Krauss, ‘76, to serve on the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. As a lawyer and expert in alternative dispute resolution, Krauss has been a member of the board’s Ad-hoc Panel of Mediators and Fact Finders since 1991 and is also director of the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. He heads the IU Public Policy Institute—a collaborative, multidisciplinary research institute within the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA)—that serves as an umbrella organization for research centers affiliated with SPEA, including the Center for Criminal Justice Research, which regularly works with state agencies on matters of public safety.
Krauss is a Clinical Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs and an Adjunct Professor of Law. He has more than 35 years of
executive experience in government, higher education, and as a business consultant. His areas of expertise include intergovernmental relations,
economic development, arbitration, conflict resolution (including labor/management disputes and employment and contract disputes), land use, zoning, political process and advocacy, management restructuring, and international consulting, including governmental reform for newly developed countries.
To give the gift of membership, sign up online at alumni.indiana.edu or call (800) 824-3044.