Alexa Shrake is the “Swiss Army knife” of journalists. She’s covered civil jury trials and appellate trends, city council meetings and high school basketball games. She’s been a website designer and podcaster.
Alexa now has a new title: Litigation and trials reporter for The Texas Lawbook.
A former reporter with The Indiana Lawyer in Indianapolis, Alexa joins The Lawbook team as the publication expands its efforts to cover complex commercial litigation and the trial lawyer community in Texas.
“Alexa was hired after a nationwide search that yielded more than 200 applicants,” said Texas Lawbook senior litigation reporter and editor Michelle Casady, who leads a team of five journalists who cover litigation full- or part-time. “She was clearly the best reporter for the job and we’re so happy she’s joined our team. Her abilities have netted numerous awards from the journalism community in Indiana and I know the energy and talent she brings to our team will elevate our coverage and help us better connect with our readers. I’m excited to work alongside her. “
Michelle, who has been The Lawbook’s lead litigation reporter since 2022, when she joined the team after nearly seven years with Law360, is based in Houston, while Alexa is based in Dallas.
Texas Lawbook publisher Brooks Igo said that the addition of Alexa demonstrates the online newspaper’s commitment to being the publication of record for covering civil litigation and civil jury trials.
Brooks pointed out that Michelle leads a team that includes former Houston Chronicle and Wall Street Journal reporter Janet Elliott in Austin, former Dallas Morning News writer and editor Bruce Tomaso, and Mark Curriden, the former legal affairs reporter for The Dallas Morning News and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Michelle is also the lead author of The Lawbook’s weekly Litigation Roundup.
Most recently, Alexa won two first place awards from the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists. One was for a story examining the foster care system and the other was for her coverage of the attorney general election and retention of Indiana Supreme Court justices.
The Dallas Morning News republished one of Alexa’s first articles for The Lawbook last week.
As is the tradition, The Lawbook posed some questions to Alexa about her background, her path to legal journalism and tips on how to contact her about story ideas.
Texas Lawbook: Tell us a little about where you were born, where you grew up and your family’s background.
Alexa Shrake: I was born in Martinsville, Indiana. It’s a small town almost an hour south of Indianapolis. When I was a kid, we lived by a cornfield on the edge of town. We had chickens, rabbits and a goat. My mom is from Bloomington, Indiana. I’m a Hoosier.
Lawbook: Any journalists in the family?
Alexa: Nope, it is just me. I am a first-generation college graduate. My mom works in mental health and substance abuse services.
Lawbook: When did the idea of being a reporter first surface for you?
Alexa: The idea probably first surfaced for me when I took the PSAT my sophomore year of high school when they made us pick a career from this long list. I chose journalism because it felt right and I’ve stuck with it.
Lawbook: Do you remember your first byline and story? What was it?
Alexa: I’m not sure exactly. If I remember correctly, my first professional byline would have been with The Statehouse File, covering the 2021 legislative session. I think my first story was on a bill that would have increased punishments for protesters charged with rioting. (I had to search deep for this one.)
Lawbook: Give our readers a little tour of your career.
Alexa: Where to start? I was really involved with student media ever since middle school, where I mainly just designed pages for the yearbook and took photos. In high school, I wrote for the website, magazine, yearbook, took photos, and designed. They gave me the nickname “Swiss Army knife” since I did everything. Of course, I did everything in college, too. At Franklin College, I started out as a columnist and reporter on the student paper, and then in my sophomore year, I became the sports editor. Since it was during COVID, there were no sports, which meant we had to get creative. In my junior year, I became executive editor of the paper, where I pushed for more multimedia content like video and audio.
During my sophomore and junior years, I freelanced for two local papers covering high school basketball and city council meetings. The summer before my last semester, I interned at the Evansville Courier & Press, where I covered a wide range of things from a quinceañera to protests after Roe v. Wade was overturned. In my last semester of college, I was the web editor of the college paper and interned at the public radio station WFYI in Indianapolis. All three and a half years of college I was part of The Statehouse File which is a publication run by Franklin College students covering all things happening with state politics. After graduating, I started at The Indiana Lawyer in January 2023, where I worked for a little over two years covering state courts and hosting a podcast.
Lawbook: What are the two most important stories you have done in your career so far?
Alexa: The two most important stories I’ve done so far, in my opinion, would have to be one where I talked to a foster mom who was trying to adopt her boys that she had been taking care of for seven years, but the court kept trying to pursue reunification. She told me about how she had to get even haircuts approved for the two boys and how one of them didn’t understand she wasn’t their mom because she had been taking care of them their whole life. I met her when I was sitting in a committee hearing for a different bill than the one she testified on. After my story was published, I heard from other foster parents who said they had or knew of others who went through similar situations.
The second story that I would say was important was one I did on the political makeup of Indiana’s Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. It was a tough story that I felt pushed me to be a better reporter. Months later, I was interviewing an attorney about the upcoming election and retention of Indiana Supreme Court justices when she started reading the story to me. She didn’t realize I was the one who wrote it. I suppose it surprised me that someone read it and shared it with others because it had such an impact on them.
Lawbook: What do you find interesting about covering courts and trials?
Alexa: I really enjoy the civil drama about covering courts. I also find it so interesting how each word matters in a complaint or hearing. I like covering oral arguments because it’s fun watching judges ask a hypothetical question and seeing the attorney trying to figure out how it relates to the case. I feel like I’m always learning and I’m having fun.
Lawbook: Do you like dealing with lawyers?
Alexa: I don’t mind it.
Lawbook: What do lawyers need to know about Alexa Shrake?
Alexa: I’m not intimidating. A lot of people are scared or weary of reporters, but we’re not really like what’s on TV. We want the truth.
Lawbook: How do you like to be contacted about story ideas or pitches?
Alexa: I prefer to be contacted by email for story ideas or pitches. You can reach me at alexa.shrake@texaslawbook.net
Lawbook: What question am I not asking that I should be asking?
Alexa: Maybe what I do outside of work? I usually read a lot or I’m outside hiking. Since I’m new to Texas, I’ll probably be out exploring and learning.