Barnes & Thornburg Expands Into Southwest

DALLAS – Barnes & Thornburg LLP, a national law firm, announced today its expansion into Texas with the addition of two partners from Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. The attorneys establishing Barnes & Thornburg’s Dallas office include Mark W. Bayer, who will serve as office managing partner, and Randy Gordon. With plans to make additional attorney hires in the coming months, the office will be temporarily located at 1717 McKinney Ave., Suite 700, in Dallas.

“We have grown in tandem with our clients by anticipating their geographic needs, and the opening of our Dallas office gives us an immediate Texas presence and instant credibility with highly capable and respected attorneys in Mark and Randy,” said Barnes & Thornburg Managing Partner Bob Grand. “In addition, by joining Barnes & Thornburg, they will align themselves with sophisticated national practices and a compelling value proposition for clients.”

Strategically, Barnes & Thornburg’s entry into Dallas represents a natural next step in the expansion of the firm’s national footprint. The firm’s position of financial strength, including its low-cost structure and conservative balance sheet, has allowed for consistent growth in leading economic and employment centers. Notably, Texas is the second most populous state in the country, and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington economy ranks in the top 10 among metropolitan areas.

“This was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to open and build an office for a leading firm like Barnes & Thornburg, whose model, culture and ambitions for Texas really resonated as a way to better serve and grow our client base,” said Bayer. “The firm isn’t saddled by the high overhead and expensive rates of other national and international firms located in Dallas. I was attracted by the proven platform that emphasizes collaboration and collegiality to enhance client experiences and outcomes.”

“Barnes & Thornburg is an attractive destination for attorneys whose top priority is providing excellence and value through the delivery of legal services,” said Gordon. “Combined with our local connections, credibility and deep understanding of the business environment, the pieces are in place to heartily grow this into a full-service office that draws a greater pool of legal talent and high-level work.”

Since 2009, Barnes & Thornburg has opened offices in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Columbus. Today, the firm serves clients worldwide from 13 offices located in markets with some of the highest concentrations of Fortune 500 companies in the country. Barnes & Thornburg’s main areas of focus include litigation, intellectual property, labor, employment, white collar crime, corporate law, government services and finance, energy, telecommunications, transportation, utilities, environmental, real estate, health care, creditors’ rights and construction law.

According to Grand, by adding high-quality and diverse attorneys in strategic markets, Barnes & Thornburg has evolved from a regional Indiana firm into a major national player in the legal marketplace. He added: “Our successful track record of expansion underscores growth where the dynamics makes sense, and Texas is the latest example of where we see great opportunity. This move allows us to compete and recruit across a wider geography while more effectively serving existing clients with active presences and business interests in the Southwest.”

About the Attorneys

Mark W. Bayer, partner, focuses his practice on antitrust, securities, privacy, theft of trade secrets, intellectual property, class actions, RICO and other complex litigation. For more than 30 years, he has litigated major cases involving clients in a wide range of range of industries, including insurance, health care, financial services, securities, manufacturing, telecommunications, data aggregation, utilities, energy, retail, hospitality and advertising.

Bayer has represented clients in various state jurisdictions and in connection with investigations by the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Texas Attorney General. He is also an experienced appellate attorney, having handled and argued numerous state and federal court appeals in various appellate courts across the country.

Bayer received his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his A.B. from Bowdoin College. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas and the Dallas Bar Association. Bayer is also a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and the Dallas Bar Foundation, and is a member of the Dallas Committee for a Qualified Judiciary. He has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA: Americas Leading Lawyers for Business and Texas Super Lawyers.

Randy Gordon, partner, focuses on complex litigation with a particular emphasis on antitrust and RICO cases. He has served in leadership roles in numerous class actions. He also advises companies on distribution plans and provides analysis of proposed transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, for antitrust issues. Gordon has counseled clients in more than two dozen industries, including serving as general counsel of a global trade association for the semiconductor industry.

A frequent author and speaker, Gordon’s academic work on RICO is routinely cited in leading law reviews and litigation. As an elected member of the American Law Institute and the Society of Writers to Her Majesty’s Signet, he participates in several projects implicating competition law and complex litigation.

Gordon received his J.D. from the Washburn University School of Law; his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Kansas; his LL.M. from Columbia Law School; and holds two Ph.D.s, one from the University of Edinburgh and one from the University of Kansas. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Oklahoma Bar Association and the Dallas Bar Association. He has also been recognized by Super Lawyers and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

With more than 600 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from 13 offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Delaware, Indiana, Los Angeles, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter at @BTLawNews.