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Indiana Securities Commissioner
Indiana Securities Division, Secretary of State’s Office
Law is a second career for Marie Castetter, who worked full time as a human resources manager while attending the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law’s evening program. In 2003, she took an internship at the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and “fell in love with being in the courtroom.” Along with brief stints at private firms, she served as chief deputy prosecutor for Hancock County from 2015 to 2019 and as judge of Hancock Superior Court 1 in 2020 before becoming the Indiana securities commissioner. In that role she leads a team of attorneys, investigators and compliance officers for the Indiana Securities Division in the Secretary of State’s Office. “We also do a great deal of outreach on financial literacy and scam prevention,” she said. As a member of the North American Securities Administrators Association, or NASAA, Castetter was asked to chair the NASAA Investor Protection and Education Foundation. “It’s been exciting to work with colleagues throughout North America on investor protection and education,” she said.
Givebacks: member, Sugar Creek Township Board; founding member, Zoey’s Place Child Advocacy Center; member, Rotary Club of Greenfield; member, Tri Kappa Sorority
First job: Delivering The Indianapolis News. “This taught me at an early age that you had to show up even if the weather was bad,” Castetter said.
Important traits: “A good lawyer needs to be able to communicate well, advocate effectively for their client and maintain the highest degree of ethical integrity. They also need to prepare for contingencies or
alternative plans if facts change.”
Mentors: Castetter said she’s had several mentors over the course of her career but singled out former boss Donald Foley. “Mr. Foley is an outstanding litigator and taught me a great deal about civil litigation,” she said. “I watched as he worked toward helping clients seek justice who normally would not get their day in court.”
Advice: Get hands-on experience: shadow an attorney or a judge, attend a court hearing and observe how attorneys interact with each other and the court or reach out to a law school professor and ask to sit in on a class. And be open to trying various legal specialties, even if they don’t seem to interest you. “When I started law school, I never wanted to practice in criminal law,” she said. “But the most rewarding work I have done has been practicing as a prosecutor.”
Favorite de-stressors: “I have always found solace in music. When I was young, I would play the piano. But as an adult, any Jimmy Buffet song can alleviate my stress, especially ‘Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude’ or ‘One Particular Harbor.’”•
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