One More Cold Call: IU Maurer School of Law

The Hon. John Tinder graduated from the Law School in 1975, with Fred Logan and Jeff Richardson following in 1977. Throughout their long and storied careers, the trio has remained incredibly close, despite living in different parts of the country. In this episode of One More Cold Call, the three alumni talk about their experiences in life and law, and what led them to create a scholarship supporting our students.

Dean Austen Parrish speaks with Gina Brickley Beredo and Cip Beredo, both graduates of the Class of 1999, who now call Cleveland, Ohio home. Gina and Cip have had tremendous careers. Gina is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Owens Corning, a Fortune 500 company with more than 19,000 employees. Prior to joining Owens Corning, Gina was General Counsel at Nordson Corporation and before that Chief of Litigation for American Greetings. She began her legal career as a litigation associate at BakerHostetler LLP. Cip also has had a tremendous career. He is the Americas Chair of the Corporate Practice and a member of a 12-person Global Board of Squire Patton Boggs, an international law firm with 45 offices in 20 countries, and one of the 30 largest law firms in the world. Cip specializes in mergers and acquisitions, securities and corporate finance transactions, and a range of corporate governance and general business matters. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2011, The Legal 500 US for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, and in Ohio Super Lawyers since 2011. The Beredos talk about their time at Indiana Law, all the extracurricular activities they were involved in, and the numerous ways they serve the Cleveland community.

Tony Prather, JD'83, is a senior partner at Barnes & Thornburg, where he has been for more than 20 years. Tony represents management in all aspects of labor and employment law and litigation. Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Tony was in-house counsel for Ameritech Corporation, Firestone Building Products Company, Firestone Industrial Products Company and Firestone Polymers. He twice has served on the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission. On Feb. 4, 2022, Indiana University announced Tony would serve as the university's vice president and chief legal counsel, pending Board of Trustees approval. He is expected to begin his duties in that role on Feb. 22. With the law school, Tony has been deeply engaged. He has served as a member of the school's Black Law School Student Association Advisory Board since 2005; twice as a member of the school's Alumni Board; and as a member of the Maurer School of Law Board of Visitors. He received the Indiana Lawyer Leadership in Law Distinguished Barristers Award in 2018, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Distinguished Service Award in 2015, and in 2020 was the recipient Indiana University Bicentennial Medal. He was inducted into the Law School's Academy of Law Alumni Fellows last year, in 2021, the highest honor the law school can bestow upon an alum.

Colleen Cotter is a 1990 graduate of the law school and has been the Executive Director of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland since 2005. Colleen also serves on the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and the Saint Luke's Foundation. She is President of the United Way of Greater Cleveland Council of Agency Executives and has served in many other leadership positions. Last year, she was named by Cleveland-Marshall Law School as one of its 2021 Hall of Fame honorees. She was named a 2017 Crain's Woman of Note. She also received the 2017 Cleveland Bar Association's President's Award and the 2015 Crain's In-House Counsel Award, non-profit category. Before joining Cleveland Legal Aid, Colleen worked for Indiana Legal Services, and also Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Maine, where she served as a Skadden Fellow. Indeed, Colleen was the first Skadden Fellow to come from the law school. Colleen also clerked for the Honorable Cornelia Kennedy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. During law school Colleen was on the Indiana Law Journal, she founded our chapter of PILF in 1988, was Order of the Coif, and graduated magna cum laude.

Tim is a 1974 graduate of the Law School. He retired from the US Attorney's Office in Indianapolis in 2011 after 23 years of service. He litigated violent crime, firearms, public corruption, white collar, and national security cases. When he retired he was First Assistant U.S. Attorney, and he had served as interim leader of the office three times during his 23 years--briefly in 1993, from 2000 to 2001, and again for more than three years from 2007 to 2010. Tim started in the office in 1988, after working as a chief deputy prosecutor in Monroe County and a supervisory deputy prosecutor in the Marion County Prosecutor's Office. After stepping down from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Tim joined the Maurer School of Law as a distinguished adjunct professor, where for almost 10 years he taught a range of criminal law and procedure courses and helped spearhead the Bradley Fellows Program, including overseeing the unique Bradley externship program.

Erin, '00, is an attorney in Chicago with Jenner and Block, where she is the co-chair of the firm's Investigations, Compliance. and Defense Practice, and a member of the firm's Monitorship Practice. She represents clients across a variety of industries in investigations and complex litigation, including cross-border investigations into financial crimes and corruption. Erin is at the top of her field. Last year, she was named by Crain's Chicago as one its “Notable Women in Law” in 2020, while in 2018 Global Investigations Review recognized her as one of the top 100 worldwide “Women in Investigations.” She previously was named by the National Law Journal as a "Chicago 40 Under 40,” and she has been named several years a Rising Star in Illinois. Just recently she was named to Best Lawyers in America for White Collar Criminal Defense. She has twice received the Mentor Award from the firm's Associates Committee including most recently in 2020, and is the former co-chair of the firm's Women's Forum and a member of its Steering Committee.

Laurie Robinson Haden is a 1998 graduate of the Law School. During her time in Bloomington, she served as an Associate and then Executive Notes Editor of the Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. In addition to a spectacular career working at Epstein Becker & Green, Seyfarth Shaw, and at CBS Corporation, Laurie is the founder, president and CEO of Corporate Counsel Women of Color. Corporate Counsel Women of Color is a non-profit professional organization, which Laurie created in 2004 to support and advance women of color as attorneys and to foster diversity in the legal profession.It now has more than 4700 members.

Jamal Sowell, '17, has served most recently as the Florida Secretary of Commerce (the CEO of Enterprise Florida, Inc.), the state's principal economic development organization. He is also a US Marine, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Jamal talks about the influence of the law and the military on his career.

Hon. Clarine Nardi Riddle, '74, counsel with Kasowitz, Benson & Torres in Washington, DC, has served as a trial court judge in Connecticut, as chief of staff to Senator Joseph Lieberman, and as the state's only female attorney general. She is also a founder of No Labels, a bi-partisan organization aimed at moving America from old-politics point-scoring to new-politics problem-solving. Clarine shares insights from her wide-ranging career.

Keith, '84, and Joe, '17, Hedinger are president and vice president of Hedinger Beverage Distributing Company and the Dad's Root Beer Company in Jasper, Ind., which also makes Dr. Wells, Bubble-Up, and Suncrest soft drinks. The family has been in the soft-drink business for over 65 years, and this father-son team talk about how the law has helped them build on their company's success.

Kaelyne Yumul Wietelman, an associate at Kelley Drye in Washington, DC, provides advice on how to balance a practice at a highly respected firm with active community and volunteer engagement. In this episode we hear about Kaelyn's work with the American Bar Foundation and the National Filipino American Lawyers Association.

Heidi Goebel, founder and managing partner of Goebel Anderson PC, describes her path from Indianapolis to Salt Lake City, the importance of mentorship, and how she co-founded what is currently the only certified majority woman-owned and operated law firm in Utah.

Milt Thompson, president and CEO of Grand Slam, talks about turning down a professional baseball career to attend law school, his work with the Pan American Games (including a trip to Cuba where he met with Fidel Castro), and his long-standing leadership of nonprofits and community organizations in Indianapolis.

Scott Breen, the vice president of sustainability at the Can Manufacturers Institute, describes his work and career path and his work with his Sustainability Defined podcast.