Shelice R. Tolbert is a partner at Tolbert & Tolbert law firm in Gary, Indiana. Shelice obtained her Juris Doctorate from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2000. Shelice received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Wittenberg University, in Springfield, OH in 1997 after graduating at the top of her class from West Side High School in 1993. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Shelice concentrates her practice in the areas of civil litigation, personal injury, municipal law including board governance, business and contract matters, police liability excessive force cases, and estate planning. Shelice was admitted to the Indiana State Bar on November 13, 2000, as well as the United States District Court in the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana. She is also admitted and qualified as an attorney and counselor before the Seventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.
Shelice served on the Board of Governors of the Indiana State Bar Association as a district representative from 2011-2013, and actively participates on the Diversity and Wellness Committees as well as the Women In Law Committee. Shelice was the recipient of the 2019 ISBA Women in the Law Recognition Award. Shelice was appointed to the Indiana State Board of Law Examiners by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2014, where she currently serves as the President. She has served with distinction as President of the James C. Kimbrough Minority Bar Association from 2010-2011 and served as President of the Porter County Chapter of the American Inns of Court from 2014-2015. She served as the President of the Lake County Bar Association in 2016, as well as chair of the Wellness Committee since 2014, currently serving on the Board of Managers. Shelice also served as Counsel to the 2018 President of the Lake County Bar Association.
Shelice has been recognized in the business community by Building Indiana magazine as a 2012 Mover & Shaker of Northwest Indiana. In 2015, Shelice was selected as one of the 20 Under 40 award recipients by the Northwest Indiana Times Media BusINess Magazine. Shelice has been nominated as a Northwest Indiana Influential Woman in Business in the Legal category in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. She was also selected by the Indiana Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and has been selected as a Super Lawyer since 2019. In 2011, Shelice served on the Task Force and Transition Team for former Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, providing guidance for the City’s Law Department and Corporation Counsel. In 2022, Shelice was nominated as an Outstanding Woman Lawyer in a Solo/Small Firm Practice for the Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association. In 2023, Shelice was an honoree in the inaugural class of the Indiana Lawyer’s Diversity in Law awards.
Shelice served as an adjunct professor at Valparaiso University School of Law, teaching Trial Practice from 2007-2017. She continues her community efforts with her involvement as Chair of the UNCF Northwest Indiana Leadership Council. She is an active member and current parliamentarian of the Gary Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Shelice also serves on the Board of Directors of the Gary Literacy Coalition, where she holds the position of vice president. She is a life member of the Gary Chapter of the NAACP and a member of the Board of Directors for Methodist Hospital. Shelice continues to assist with scholarship application reviews with the Legacy Foundation, and she has served on the Board of Directors for the Lake Area United Way. Shelice continues to offer her volunteer services to the legal community through her involvement in the grants and scholarships committee of the Indiana Bar Foundation.
Shelice has been married to Michael E. Tolbert since 2006 and is a member of Embassies of Christ Kingdom Ministries Church, where she serves as vision guardian for the Employment Ministry. Shelice and her husband received the Co-Merit of Distinction Award from the Katie Hall Education Foundation in 2017. Shelice continues to speak at schools in Gary and around Northwest Indiana, mentoring and encouraging the youth in our communities.
