Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Barnes & Thornburg LLP is the product of a 1982 merger between two well-established Indiana law firms, one in Indianapolis, the other in South Bend. The marriage of Indianapolis-based Barnes, Hickam, Pantzer & Boyd and South Bend-based Thornburg, McGill, Deahl, Harman, Carey & Murray formed one of the largest law firms in the Midwest and began the firm’s growth to its current national stature. Barnes & Thornburg LLP currently has law offices located in Atlanta, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., with more than 540 attorneys and other legal professionals.

This is quite a change from the firm’s modest beginnings in 1926 as Seebirt, Oare & Omacht in South Bend. Founded by former Mayor Eli F. Seebirt and Judge Lenn J. Oare, the practice grew and changed over the years to become the largest firm in South Bend and Elkhart. In 1965, the South Bend firm merged with Elkhart-based Cawley & Harman to become Thornburg, McGill, Deahl, Harman, Carey & Murray. The firm affiliated with three eastern law firms in 1968 to form a Washington, D.C. firm known as Scribner, Hall, Thornburg and Thompson. This affiliation continued until 1981. Early on, these attorneys watched legal trends and perceived the need for services in the growing fields of labor law, tax, business, and estate administration. The firm was among the first to serve these areas, and continues to remain strong in them today.