Indianapolis Law Firm Sommer Barnard Merges With Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

News

posted 1 May 2008

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP have announced that Sommer Barnard PC, a prominent Indianapolis law firm with more than 100 lawyers, will merge with and become part of Taft, effective May 1.

This brings the number of attorneys with Taft to 320 across offices in Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Covington, Kentucky; Phoenix, Arizona; Beijing, China; and now Indianapolis, Indiana. Sommer Barnard, which will transition to the Taft name, operates in two locations in Indianapolis, downtown and on the north side.

In announcing the merger, Taft’s managing partner Thomas Terp said, “The leadership and professionals at Sommer Barnard share our values of personal service, creativity and performance-driven attitude, and are a great fit for us as we expand into the Indianapolis market. They are superior lawyers who value teamwork and client service, and we are thrilled to have them join the Taft team.”

Terp said the combined strengths of the two firms will give the firm greater depth in meeting a variety of business and individual legal needs. Those services include business and finance, litigation, environmental, real estate, labor and employment, intellectual property, healthcare, bankruptcy, personal services and tax.

Sommer Barnard’s managing partner, Robert Hicks, said, “As a result of our clients’ success, the volume and sophistication of their needs are growing. To continue to provide our clients the high level of service we’ve always offered, we needed to grow along with them. Taft is one of the most established and respected firms in the Midwest and has a great national reputation. It is the first firm we encountered that not only said it was devoted to the same principles our firm is based on, but also proved it to us.” As part of the merger, Hicks will become Partner-in-Charge of Taft’s new Indianapolis offices.