Scott Lee Starr

I was born on May 15, 1955, and have been practicing law since 1980.  I grew up on a small family farm in Randolph County, Indiana, about 25 miles from the Ohio/Indiana line.  I am the oldest of six children and the only lawyer in my family.  In 1976, I married my high school sweetheart.  Phyllis and I have three sons.

 I don’t like to brag, but I realize it is likely a necessary evil so you can learn something about me, so here goes.  I graduated near the top of my class at Ball State University (just 35 miles from my boyhood home) in 1977, Summa Cum Laude, with a degree in accounting.  Although I have passed the CPA exam, I have never practiced as an accountant and therefore do not have a certified public accountant’s certificate.  I went directly from undergraduate school to law school and received my Juris Doctorate Degree from the Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, in 1980.  I graduated from I.U. with honors, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

 I am a member of several professional associations.  I am past president of the Cass County Bar Association.  I am a member of the Indiana State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Defense Trial Council of Indiana (DTCI), the Defense Research Institute (DRI), American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and last but not definitely least the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA).  A couple of these associations deserve further note.

 The American College of Trial Lawyers is the preeminent national organization devoted to organizing the best plaintiff and defense trial lawyers and judges in the county into one cohesive unit for the betterment of the profession and the furtherance of justice.  The Defense Trial Council of Indiana is an incorporated group of over 900 Indiana lawyers who devote a substantial portion of their practice to the defense of civil litigation.  I sat on the DTCI Board of Directors for eleven years and was an officer for five years.  I was President of DTCI in 1998.  I was named a Diplomat of DTCI in 2003 which basically means I have a lot of experience, at least a fair amount of respect from my peers as there have been less than 50 attorneys in Indiana who have ever held this honor.