Earlier this week Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb awarded Josh S. Tatum a Sagamore of the Wabash for his leadership and appellate advocacy on an important constitutional issue. The Sagamore of the Wabash, one of the highest awards a Hoosier governor can bestow, recognized Tatum, a partner and appellate lawyer at Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP, as lead counsel of a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the Governor’s challenge to a statute that would have allowed legislative leaders to call the General Assembly into session without the governor’s involvement. PSRB partner Andrea K. Townsend and then-associate Yuning Tian contributed to the brief, filed on behalf of three scholars of Indiana’s Constitution: James H. Madison, William McLauchlan, and Elizabeth R. Osborn. The Indiana Supreme Court invalidated the law in Holcomb v. Bray, 187 N.E.3d 1268 (Ind. 2022), recognizing Indiana’s Constitution allows only the governor to call special legislative sessions.

“We are so proud of the work done under Josh’s leadership for Governor Holcomb and the people of Indiana,” said George Plews, senior and founding partner at Plews Shadley Racher & Braun. “Once in a great while lawyers have a chance to use their skills and training to protect the delicate balance between our branches of government. Josh and his colleagues rose to that vital challenge.”

The Sagamore, awarded for contributions to the state and recipients’ communities, also recognized Josh’s volunteer leadership with Indiana YMCA Youth and Government, a civic-education program through which he has mentored students from across the state in grades 6–12. Josh also has long supported the Scouting movement in central Indiana, as an Eagle Scout, the father of Girl Scouts, and a den leader for his son and other fifth graders at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church’s Cub Scout Pack 72. He also serves in various volunteer roles for his alma mater Wabash College. Josh’s contributions to the law and legal profession include chairing appellate sections and various other leadership positions of the Indiana State Bar and Indianapolis Bar associations and serving on the Indiana Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness since 2013.

“Receiving a Sagamore of the Wabash from Governor Holcomb represents a highlight in my career,” Tatum said. “Supporting the effort to preserve the Constitution’s allocation of power among Indiana’s branches of government involved a team effort. I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of our clients, Andrea, Yuning, and the rest of the PSRB team. When I learned that the governor intended this award to recognize my other efforts as a lawyer and citizen, it affirmed years of hard work on behalf of clients, my profession, and my community.  I gladly agreed to play this small part in Governor Holcomb’s time of service and hope for future opportunities to live up to this honor.”

In his work as a lawyer, Josh Tatum assists businesses, faith communities, and nonprofits in both litigation and nonlitigation matters. His appellate and other litigation experience includes constitutional law, corporate governance, contracts, state and local government, insurance, employment, healthcare, public records, and other complex topics. Josh has contributed to hundreds of appeals in Indiana and other state appellate courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, and lower federal appellate courts. Before private practice he spent two years clerking for then-Chief Justice of Indiana, Randall T. Shepard.

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