Barnes & Thornburg: Better Together

Your next chapter starts here and it moves fast.

We’re built for ambitious people like you, ready to drive your future. Our national firm offers strong leadership, responsive teams, and clear career paths. Partners grow their practices, early-career lawyers advance rapidly, and business professionals move us forward. Here, initiative drives results.

Our path is intentional. Growing without mergers, staying true to our culture, and investing in the people who shape what’s next. Though we’ve grown nationally, our roots and small-firm values still define how we work, with focus, collaboration, and trust. That’s why our lateral retention is high, our momentum is sustained, and our future is wide open.  

People Thrive Here

With more than 850 attorneys in 25+ offices, Barnes & Thornburg offers the scale of a national firm with the energy and cohesion of a team that builds together. For example, we offer you: 

• Genuine ownership that’s attainable, with a clear partnership track and performance metrics.
• Meaningful support starts with a hands-on lateral integration program and engaged leadership.  
• A working culture, where everyone contributes, clients come first, and results speak loudest.
• Flexibility with purpose, including a realistic billing structure and personalized compensation.
• Dedicated, practice-specific marketing and business development teams that work with you to grow your practice and network. 

Consistent Organic Growth

In the past decade, we have consistently risen in the Am Law rankings — a reflection of the firm’s strategic expansion and long-term, organic growth trajectory. Today, we rank #783 on the Am Law 100. Tomorrow, you could propel us further.

However, “math is not a strategy,” as Andy Detherage, Firm Managing Partner said recently in an interview with The American Lawyer, emphasizing the importance of aligning new hires with the firm’s platform, values, and strategic plan.  

Rather than chase size for size’s sake, we invest in high-demand capabilities that our clients tell us they want — corporate funds, investment litigation, white-collar defense, IP, health care, and mass torts. We’ve added lawyers whose practices and industry acumen enhance and expand the services we provide to clients, and we expand into markets where our clients tell us they’d like us to be.

For example, in New York City’s competitive and sophisticated legal market, we’ve grown our attorney headcount by 200% over the past five years to establish our presence in the private funds and corporate landscape.  

In just two years, our Nashville office has tripled — a testament to both the city’s dynamic growth and our entry into its sports and entertainment sector. In Dallas, what began as a small outpost has grown to five times the size in the last decade, evolving into a cornerstone of our national presence.  

We’ve made bold moves for new talent, deepening our capabilities in areas where client demand and market opportunity intersect. From private equity and complex litigation to entertainment, media and sports, we continue to recruit and welcome proven leaders who add depth, agility and industry insight to benefit our clients.  

Barnes & Thornburg by the Numbers

• 850+ attorneys across 25+ offices through organic growth
• 129 new offices launched in the past six years
• 83% retention rate for lateral partners  
• 8-year partnership track with 99% realization rate

Defining Matters. Caring Culture.

Our clients trust us with their most complex and consequential issues. These are the matters that shape industries, create headlines and make careers. Our growth story is only part of who we are. See what defines life at B&T and what brings our people together. Explore Our Uniqueness.