Randy Gordon and Mark Bayer of Barnes & Thornburg.

Adding to its Dallas office, Barnes & Thornburg has brought on three partners from three different firms in a string of New Year lateral hires.

The trio includes Randy Gordon, who reunited with litigators he worked with at Gardere Wynne Sewell prior to its merger with Foley & Lardner in 2018.

Gordon, who had been managing director of Crowe & Dunlevy's Dallas office, and Tamara Baggett, a former partner with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in Dallas, joined Barnes & Thornburg as litigation partners on Jan. 1. Corporate lawyer Jenni Tauzel also joined the firm as a partner, coming from Winstead.

“The expansion of our office in Dallas is incredibly gratifying,” said office managing partner Mark Bayer, who noted that the firm has 27 lawyers there, including 10 who joined in 2018.

“We've assembled a formidable litigation bench in Dallas since opening our doors in 2015,” Bayer said.

Gordon said he's excited to practice at the same firm with his old trial team, including Bayer and partners Luke Wohlford and Thomas Haskins. In 2015, Bayer and Gordon left Gardere Wynne to open the Barnes & Thornburg office in Dallas, but Gordon said he returned to Gardere after only one day because of an unanticipated issues conflict.  

“All that's resolved now,” Gordon said.

In 2017, Gordon and Wohlford left Gardere Wynne to open an office in Dallas for Oklahoma firm Crowe & Dunlevy, which was actually where Gordon had practiced before Gardere Wynne. At that time, Gordon said, his move was prompted by an “honest-to-goodness client conflict.”

Wolford joined Bayer at Barnes & Thornburg in November, two months before Gordon's move, and Haskins has been at Barnes & Thornburg since 2015.

In addition to the opportunity to work at the same office again with his old team, Gordon said he knows Barnes & Thornburg well because he vetted the firm before joining it briefly in 2015.

“I like what they've done in terms of expansion and trying to build out a national footprint, and [they] have done it very judicially,” Gordon said, adding that as a Kansas native he appreciates the Indianapolis-based firm's Midwestern mindset.

“I'm layering on my good relationships with the folks in some of the other offices, including a lot of folks involved in management,” he said.

Gordon said his clients include Texas A&M University.

Bayer said he and Gordon have been friends and colleagues for so long that “it was just a matter of time 'til we could get back together again” at the same firm.

“I don't know anyone anywhere who has stronger analytical and writing skills than Randy,” Bayer said.

Timila Rother, president and CEO of Crowe & Dunlevy, wrote in an email that it made sense for Gordon and Wolford to move to Barnes & Thornburg because they have a long relationship and common clients. She said they are “excellent attorneys” and the firm wishes them much success, but the firm intends to continue to build its Dallas office.

Baggett does complex commercial litigation including contract disputes, construction and fidicuary litigation, internet defamation and brand protection matters, and unfair trade practice suits. She also handles real estate, intellectual property, antitrust and tort disputes.

Tauzel represents individual and institutional investors in organization, capitalization and reorganization matters. She also advises buyers and sellers in M&A and capital raising and lenders and borrowers in secured financing transactions. Her clients are in the energy, real estate, manufacturing and aerospace industries.

Further Reading

Laterals Open Dallas Office for Barnes & Thornburg

Dallas Market Gets Another New Firm, This One From Oklahoma

Barnes & Thornburg Continues to Expand Litigation Strength in Dallas With Another Lateral Hire