(Des Moines, IA) – The Mills County Attorney was recently appointed to a newly formed task force on Attorney Licensure Reform established by the Iowa Supreme Court, to evaluate the efficacy of current entry standards, and to propose evidence-based improvements to the process.
Mills County Attorney DeShawne Bird-Sell is among 22 individuals appointed under the Iowa Supreme Court. In a statement provided in the Order issued March 27th establishing the Task Force, the Court said “Recognizing that the availability of competent legal counsel is a critical component of the state’s judicial infrastructure, and observing that there is a demonstrable shortage of practicing attorneys in this state, the court finds it appropriate to reexamine the formal requirements for professional licensure.”
The following persons are appointed to serve on the task force:
- Honorable Christopher McDonald (cochair), Justice, Iowa Supreme Court
- Kathleen Law (cochair), President, The Iowa State Bar Association, Des Moines
- Honorable Dana Oxley, Justice, Iowa Supreme Court
- Honorable Mary Tabor, Chief Judge, Iowa Court of Appeals
- Honorable Shawn Showers, Chief Judge, Eighth Judicial District
- Honorable Melissa Anderson-Seeber, Judge, First Judicial District
- Ally Bedwell, private practice attorney, Osceola
- Paul Berchenbriter, attorney, Iowa Legal Aid, Cedar Rapids
- DeShawne Bird-Sell, Mills County Attorney, Glenwood
- Tre Critelli, Executive Director, Office of Professional Regulation, Des Moines
- Joe Feller, private practice attorney, Sibley
- Jeana Goosmann, private practice attorney, Sioux City
- Kelsea Hawley, private practice attorney, Carroll
- Dan Huitink, private practice attorney, Pella
- Jeremy Kidd, Professor, Drake University Law School, Des Moines
- Kelsey Knight, Assistant State Public Defender, Des Moines
- Patrick Mahaffey, private practice attorney, Montezuma
- Jacob Mason, Assistant State Public Defender, Des Moines
- Katie Overberg, private practice attorney, Des Moines
- Caroline Sheerin, Professor, University of Iowa School of Law, Iowa City
- Harry Shipley, Executive Director, The Iowa State Bar Association, Des Moines
- Mathew Zinkula, Staff Attorney, Iowa Supreme Court, Des Moines, ex-officio.
Task force members may be reimbursed for necessary and reasonable travel expenses according to Iowa Court Rules 22.16 through 22.21
