When Ice Miller´s man aging partner, Phillip Bayt, was growing up in Indianapolis, the White River was dotted with industrial factories, including plants belonging to General Motors and Chrysler. At the time there were just three major law firms in the city: Barnes & Thornburg, Baker & Daniels, and Ice Miller. But as he grew up, Bayt watched manufacturing jobs dry up and plants close down. Conversely, the number of big law firms in Indianapolis increased, doubling in the past decade. Ogletree Deakins opened an Indianapolis branch in 2000, Littler Mendelson launched an Indy office in 2006, and Frost Brown Todd and Taft Stettinius & Hollister both moved into the market in 2009 and 2008, respectively, by merging with firms already established in the city.
But the combination of fewer jobs and more law firms is putting a squeeze on the Indianapolis legal market. And although tech start-ups and life sciences companies have helped fill the hole left by manufacturers, there’s still not enough work. “All of these firms are bumping into each other. The volume of work is not keeping up with the capacity to service it,” says Indiana University Mauer School of Law professor William Henderson. As a result, Indianapolis law firms are changing their business strategies and are expanding into other markets.
