About Our Staff

Trish Billotte

Co-Owner/Corrections Specialist

Trish is the co-owner of Cockle Law Brief Printing Co., and she personally oversees the corrections department. Possessing an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska, Trish worked side-by-side with Merna Smith as they helped perfect thousands upon thousands of filings to the United States Supreme Court over a 35-year span. Trish has a well-established rapport with the Supreme Court's Clerks, and she ensures the quality of every "Cockle" brief.

Mary Anne Shepard

Document Analyst/Corrections Specialist

Mary Anne possesses a B.A. in English and a Juris Doctorate from Creighton University. Before joining the Cockle family, Mary Anne practiced corporate law and was an assistant prosecutor. Mary Anne then spent 15 years teaching paralegals, inter alia, the art of legal research and writing at Iowa Western Community College and other institutions of higher learning. Every Cockle client benefits from Mary Anne's wealth of experience because she is both a lead proofreader and the primary contact for corrections.

Shari Lockenour

Assistant Office Manager/Document Analyst

Shari is the most experienced Cockle Legal Brief Specialist, serving under the tutelage of Merna Smith for over 12 years. Shari has a long working relationship with the Court's Clerks and she assists attorneys from the initial stage of the process until printing. She is particularly adept at implementing Supreme Court Rule 14, which governs the inclusion and order of documents that must be contained in an appendix at the petition stage. Also, Shari is a lead proofreader and head trainer of new staff at Cockle.

Kate Collister

Document Analyst

Kate possesses a B.A. from Kings College of London and a post-graduate paralegal certificate from College of St. Mary. Prior to her employment at Cockle, Kate worked in environmental and family law as a paralegal. Kate is an integral part of the Cockle marketing, scheduling, and corrections team. Kate also tracks the Supreme Court's docket in order to keep Cockle clients abreast of Court developments.

Tiffany Greene

Document Analyst/Invoicing

Tiffany worked extensively with attorneys on arguably the two biggest cases of the 2008 term. She assisted in finalizing the Joint Appendix and Merits Briefs for Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428, 08-328, and Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District v. Holder, No. 08-322. Tiffany also compiled several Joint Appendices for the 2009 term, including Graham v. Florida, No. 08-7412; Sullivan v. Florida, No. 08-7412; Perdue v. Kenny A., No. 08-970; Hamilton v. Lanning, No. 08-998; City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332; and the Second Amendment case, McDonald v. City of Chicago, No. 08-1521.

Tiffany assists Cockle clients in the Document Analyst department, and because she possesses ten years of prior accounting experience, Tiffany is also a member of the Cockle invoicing team.

Sally Petermann

Document Analyst/Corrections Specialist

Sally possesses an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Prior to joining Cockle, Sally worked for four years as the Pro Se Assistant in the Clerk’s Office for the United States District Court in Nebraska and was employed in both federal and state probation offices as a probation officer and probation officer’s assistant.

Sally assists Cockle clients in the Document Analyst and Corrections departments.

Sean Bradley

Document Analyst

Sean is a practicing attorney with a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law. His litigation experience includes personal injury, workers’ compensation, criminal defense, employment law, and public interest advocacy. Sean has developed and conducted clinics to assist pro se litigants represent their own interests in court. In his career, Sean provided legislative testimony and advice in support of major statutory reforms, worked as an administrative law judge, and continues to volunteer his legal services to the indigent and homeless.

Due to his extensive legal experience, Sean is able to assist Cockle clients in navigating the complexities of filing a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Shon R Hopwood

Document Analyst/Writer for Cockle Blog

Shon has written and prepared over 25 briefs to the United States Supreme Court. Two of the cert petitions, Shon prepared, were granted review and the story of his legal success was recently the subject of articles in the New York Times, American Bar Association Journal, Legal Broadcast News, and Above the Law. Shon has also written: appellate briefs in nine out of the thirteen Federal Circuit Courts; a law review article for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review; and a piece for The Champion magazine. His experience writing briefs is therefore an invaluable tool for Cockle clients. In addition, Shon follows the Court’s docket closely so he can advise Cockle clients on Court trends and filing strategy.

He currently writes articles on Supreme Court news, noteworthy briefs, and criminal law for the CockleBur, and in the spring of 2012, Crown/Random House will publish his memoir.