INDIANAPOLIS – The United States Senate has confirmed Barnes & Thornburg partner James Sweeney to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The Senate unanimously approved the confirmation during a voice vote on Aug. 28.
President Donald J. Trump nominated Sweeney in November 2017. Sweeney, an attorney and retired Marine Corps colonel and combat veteran, will fill the vacancy created when the Honorable Sarah Evans Barker took senior judge status.
“It is with a great deal of pride that we congratulate Jim on his nomination and confirmation to the Southern District, which is a testament to his many accomplishments leading up to and including his long tenure at Barnes & Thornburg,” said Brian L. Burdick, managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg’s Indianapolis office. “While we will miss his thoughtful and reasoned counsel on behalf of our clients, we know that Jim will have much success as a district judge.”
In his 20th year in Barnes & Thornburg’s Indianapolis office, Sweeney is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department and is co-chair of the Federal Contracting, Procurement and National Security Practice Group. He also is a member of the Global Services Practice Group and the Internet and Technology Law Practice Group.
He earned a bachelor’s degree with merit from the United States Naval Academy and accepted a commission in the United States Marine Corps. Sweeney graduated magna cum laude in 1996 from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he served as the editor in chief of the Notre Dame Law Review.
Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Sweeney served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable John Daniel Tinder when he was a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and for the Honorable James L. Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
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 @BTLawNews.
