History
The law firm that would become Baker & Daniels traces its roots to 1863 ... the rest is history.
1863 to 1881 - The Beginnings
In 1863, Thomas A. Hendricks, a successful practicing lawyer in Indianapolis and later Vice President of the United States under Grover Cleveland, decided that he needed a partner when his workload became too large for one attorney to handle. Hendricks selected Oscar B. Hord, a former Indiana Attorney General. The firm was renamed Hendricks & Hord.
Two years later, Samuel E. Perkins, previously a judge with the Indiana Supreme Court, joined the firm. The firm's name then became Hendricks, Perkins & Hord. Perkins later withdrew from the firm in 1866, but continued to practice law in Indianapolis.
In 1867, after the departure of Samuel Perkins, Hendricks & Hord brought a new lawyer into the firm - Abram W. Hendricks, a cousin of Thomas Hendricks and son of Indiana's third Governor, William Hendricks. The firm was subsequently renamed Hendricks, Hord & Hendricks.
Conrad Baker joined the firm in 1873. Baker was a former Governor of Indiana who ran against Thomas Hendricks in the 1868 Indiana gubernatorial election and won. Because he was the incumbent, having succeeded Oliver Hazard Perry Morton when he resigned as Governor in 1872 to become a U.S. Senator from Indiana, Conrad Baker could not run for re-election in 1872. Thomas Hendricks was elected in 1872 and when he assumed the Governor's Statehouse chair in 1873, Conrad Baker took Hendricks' chair in the law offices of Hendricks, Hord & Hendricks and the firm became Baker, Hord & Hendricks. Later, Albert Baker, the son of Conrad Baker, and Edward Daniels would join the firm in 1876 and 1879, respectively.
Years of Change and Growth
In 1881, Albert Baker and Edward Daniels decided to form a partnership, opening their law office in the building that adjoined the Baker, Hord & Hendricks offices. Even then, the young firm was interested in emerging technologies: telephone service was still rare in Indianapolis at the time but the firm's leaders saw the potential. In order to have telephone service in their new office, Baker and Daniels ran an extension from the telephone of Baker, Hord & Hendricks and the two firms shared a common telephone line.
Between 1885 and 1888, Thomas A. Hendricks, Conrad Baker, Abram W. Hendricks and Oscar B. Hord passed away. With the deaths of the senior partners, Albert Baker and Edward Daniels assumed responsibility for the operation of the office known as Baker, Hord & Hendricks. At the end of 1888, the firm's name was changed to Baker & Daniels.
Joseph J. "Joe" Daniels, the son of Edward Daniels, received his law degree in 1914 and subsequently joined Baker & Daniels. Other lawyers would later enter the firm - William W. Seagle, Warrack Wallace and William G. Davis. To reflect these new additions, the firm's name would undergo yet another change - to Baker, Daniels, Wallace & Seagle. It remained so until 1944, when the name was restored to Baker & Daniels.
Years of Expansion Yield a Promising Future
In 1976, Baker & Daniels established an office in Washington, D.C., and in 1983, the Fort Wayne office opened. Two years later, the firm created a subsidiary company, Sagamore Associates (which later became B&D Sagamore). Located in Washington, D.C., Sagamore assisted clients with federal relations issues.
In the 1990s, Baker & Daniels would continue to expand. The South Bend office opened in 1990, followed by the Elkhart office in 1993. In 1998, the future of Baker & Daniels took an exciting new direction when the firm’s first overseas office was opened in China.
During this time, Baker & Daniels created a second subsidiary company called Capitol Direct (which later became B&D Quorum). This D.C.-based company assisted clients through grassroots advocacy, direct marketing and public affairs efforts.
In 2000, a merger with Pfaff, Brotherson & Killoren enabled the Elkhart office to continue its growth and the 96th Street office in Indianapolis opened. In addition, a new Baker & Daniels subsidiary was founded - Aventor, a global medical technology consulting firm. At the start of 2006, merging the people and practices of Aventor, B&D Quorum and B&D Sagamore into one company, B&D Consulting, assured an integrated, comprehensive approach to meeting clients’ challenges and goals.
As part of a long-term growth strategy, Baker & Daniels consolidated its practices in North Central Indiana into a regional model in 2007 by transferring operations in Elkhart to the South Bend office. Then in 2008, the firm celebrated the grand opening of a new South Bend office in one of downtown's most prominent buildings. Baker & Daniels was part of a multimillion dollar renovation project, allowing the firm to occupy the top five floors in a 14-story bank building.
Also in 2007, B&D Consulting expanded its national services to the property tax industry with the addition of the B&D Equity Property Tax Group in Chicago. The group, which brought many years of experience in national property tax matters, aligned with the firm's growth initiative and provided entry into the Chicago market.
Baker & Daniels expanded its presence in Chicago with the opening of a new law office in 2008. As the major Midwest commercial center, Chicago not only compliments the firm's existing national and international practices in Indiana, Washington, D.C. and China but helps better serve the needs of existing clients in and around Chicagoland, as well as improving access to additional legal and consulting talent.
Baker & Daniels' long tradition of legal services and historical ties with people and businesses of Indiana have been sources of great pride within the firm, even as it expanded its scope to national and international practices. Through the years, the lawyers who have joined the firm have looked to the founding partners as an example of excellence in the legal profession. Although Baker & Daniels has grown tremendously, the high standards of excellence set in 1863 continue to guide the firm today. And Baker & Daniels continually strives to be more responsive to client needs, expanding services and resources to meet and exceed their increasing challenges wherever they are.