The Indianapolis legal market is still struggling in a post-recession economy. Local firms that want to expand are looking elsewhere, where better opportunities — and higher billing rates — offer a more promising climate for growth. Ice Miller anticipates adding attorneys in its corporate, real estate, intellectual property and labor practices in Chicago and Cleveland, according to chief managing partner Phillip Bayt. About 190 of its 300 lawyers are in Indianapolis.
Some of the Indianapolis-based attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg work with colleagues in the firm's Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis offices, largely to leverage the lower cost of local labor, managing partner Alan Levin said. About 210 of the firm's 490 attorneys are at firm headquarters in Indianapolis.
