Four officers have been elected to the Indiana Supreme Court's Commission on Continuing Legal Education, Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard announced today.

John Krauss	Susan Gainey
Gerry Bishop	Michael Tolbert

The new officers are: John Krauss, of Indianapolis, Chair; Susan G. Gainey of Indianapolis, Vice-Chair; Gerry Bishop of Merrillville, Treasurer; and Michael Tolbert of Merrillville, Secretary. The term for these four attorneys is from January 1 to December 31, 2006.

John L. Krauss, a former deputy mayor of Indianapolis, joined Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) in 1991. In 1992, he was a co-founder of SPEA's Center for Urban Policy and the Environment, a nonpartisan applied research organization, where he now serves as director. He is also Director of the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations State of Indiana. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Colorado College and a law degree from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.

Ms. Gainey is a partner at the Indianapolis office of the law firm of Kightlinger & Gray, LLP, having served in the firm's Evansville office from 1999 to 2004. Ms. Gainey's practice areas include litigation, municipal government law, product liability, employment law, and insurance defense. She received her B.A. from Indiana University in 1995 and her law degree from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1999.

Mr. Bishop heads a law office in Merrillville concentrating in civil litigation, personal injury, and mediation. He received his B.A. degree from Purdue University and a law degree from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.

Mr. Tolbert is an associate at the law firm of Hoeppner Wagner & Evans LLP in Merrillville. He focuses his practice primarily in the areas of labor and employment, insurance defense, commercial litigation and appeal matters. Mr. Tolbert received a B.A. degree from Valparaiso University and a law degree from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2000.

The Commission has 11 members who receive no salary for their service. It is primarily responsible for approval of the individual educational opportunities that Indiana's attorneys are required to receive and for approval of the sponsors who present the educational seminars. Additionally, the Commission sets standards for training courses for Indiana 's registered mediators and regulates attorney specialization in the state.