Pre-Law Advisory Council

Amy Bipes is a legal assistance attorney with the Office of Staff Judge Advocate at Fort Riley, KS. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kansas State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. She earned the degree of Juris Doctor from Washburn University School of Law in 1998. After completing law school, Ms. Bipes began working in private practice in Topeka and later served Shawnee County as an Assistant District Attorney from 2005 to 2009. She has been assisting soldiers, veterans, and their dependents with legal issues for six years. As a civilian with the JAG Corps, she has been assisting soldiers, veterans, and their dependents with legal issues since 2009.

David E. Waters is a partner with Spencer Fane LLP in Overland Park, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the City Attorneys Association of Kansas, and is city attorney for the cities of Leavenworth and Eudora. Uniquely, he also serves as an elected official and is currently the mayor for Westwood, Kansas. Previously elected and appointed positions include the Westwood City Council and the Westwood Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals. He is the 2023-2024 President of the Kansas Mayors Association as well. David also works with local and national clients through all phases of commercial, retail, and industrial development, including leasing, land use, governmental approvals, and public incentives, and he maintains an active presence specifically in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries, advising on design, construction, and delivery methods. In 2019, he was named as one of the “50 Kansans You Should Know” by Ingram’s Magazine. He is a Fellow in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and has been named “Lawyer of the Year” by the Best Lawyers in America in Construction Law (2018), Real Estate Law (2022), and Land Use and Zoning Law (2019, 2023).

Josh Wilson received his Bachelors of Science, Summa Cum Laude from Kansas State with dual majors in Communication Studies and Political Science. He was involved in the Student Tribunal, Honor Council, and prelaw, but most of all enjoyed the mock trial club, and was on the team that represented Kansas State at the AMTA National Championship Tournament in 2014. He received a J.D. from the University of Chicago in 2017. Mr. Wilson is now practicing law at BakerHostetler in Cleveland, Ohio, where his environmental practice includes bringing and defending litigation, resolving administrative enforcement actions, holistically managing legal issues and risks presented by expansions, acquisitions or new regulatory developments, and navigating permitting and compliance obligations involved in a variety of industry operations (including assisting in site selection, financing diligence, and obtaining all state and federal permits for two brand new scrap-to-steel mini-mills in the U.S.). Prior to joining BakerHostetler, Josh practiced at the Office of the Texas Solicitor General. He has drafted successful motions and briefs on a variety of issues in several state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and has served as lead counsel or co-lead in briefing and arguing cases before state courts of appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, and the Eighth and D.C. Circuits.

Audrey Mross, Kansas State University alumna, is currently a partner at Munck Wilson Mandala and head of the firm’s Labor and Employment Section. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from K-State in 1980, and went on to receive her Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, TX. Her articles have been published and quoted in USA Today, CNN/Money, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. She is a member of local, state, and the American Bar Association as well as, the K-State Alumni Association, American Heart Association, the Society for Human Resource Management, and several other renowned organizations. Audrey is the creator, manager, and driving force of our ‘Cat Counselors listserv and is a mentor to both Pre-Law and Business Students.

Stephen Mazza joined the KU Law faculty in 1998 and was named dean in April 2011. An honors graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, he received his LL.M. from New York University School of Law, where he was managing editor of the Tax Law Review. After practicing in the tax section of a large Atlanta law firm, he returned to NYU as an acting assistant professor teaching in the LL.M. tax program. Mazza has expanded the number of tax offerings at KU, teaching separate courses in Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions, Tax Procedure and Tax Policy. He also coordinates the law school's tax certificate program and VITA program. Mazza is an active member of the tax section of the Kansas Bar Association and a frequent speaker on tax issues.