Ballard Spahr Public Finance Team Moves to Barnes & Thornburg

Why It Matters

Barnes’ aggressive hire reshapes the municipal finance landscape, giving the firm a top‑10 public‑finance platform and broader geographic reach, while Ballard Spahr cedes a historic market position.

Key Takeaways

• Barnes adds 35 attorneys, 25 partners to public finance
• Ballard Spahr exits municipal bond counsel market
• New team expands Barnes to Baltimore, Denver, Phoenix, Texas
• Firm now ranks in top‑10 public finance practices
• Demand for tax‑advantaged infrastructure financing remains strong

Pulse Analysis

Law firms are increasingly consolidating niche practices to achieve scale, and the Barnes & Thornburg‑Ballard Spahr transaction exemplifies this trend in municipal finance. By absorbing a 35‑lawyer team that has been a staple of bond counsel rankings for decades, Barnes instantly upgrades its expertise and market credibility. The move also underscores a broader shift where legacy firms like Ballard Spahr are pruning specialized units to focus on higher‑margin areas, creating acquisition opportunities for firms eager to fill the void.

Strategically, Barnes leverages the hire to deepen its footprint across the United States. The new attorneys bring offices in Baltimore, Denver, Phoenix and a debut in Texas, extending the firm’s reach beyond its Indiana core into key growth markets. This geographic diversification aligns with Barnes’ growth‑by‑hire model, allowing it to compete for larger, multi‑jurisdictional public‑finance mandates. The bolstered bench now positions the firm within the top ten public‑finance practices, a status that can attract higher‑value clients and cross‑sell services across its 26‑office network.

Looking ahead, the public‑finance sector faces headwinds from reduced federal funding, yet demand for tax‑advantaged capital remains strong for projects like affordable housing, healthcare and education. Barnes’ expanded capabilities enable it to offer comprehensive advisory services, from underwriting to regulatory compliance, helping issuers navigate tighter fiscal environments. As municipalities seek innovative financing structures, firms with deep bench strength and national coverage—such as the newly enlarged Barnes—are poised to capture a larger share of the market, reinforcing the strategic value of this acquisition.

Ballard Spahr public finance team moves to Barnes & Thornburg

By Jessica Lerner (contributed)

Former Ballard Spahr public finance co‑head Valarie Allen will serve as department vice chair for public finance at Barnes & Thornburg.

Barnes & Thornburg

Indiana‑based Barnes & Thornburg has scooped up the top‑ranked public finance and infrastructure team from Ballard Spahr, signaling a major expansion into the public finance market.

The move adds 35 attorneys, including 25 partners, to Barnes’ Government Services and Finance Department.

The firm’s practice, previously at 21 attorneys, now totals 56 public finance and infrastructure lawyers. It boosts Barnes & Thornburg’s East Coast presence, marks its entrance into Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix and its public finance debut in the Texas market.

“We’re incredibly excited about what this team brings to the firm,” said Andrew Detherage, the firm’s managing partner. “They have a very, very sophisticated practice and we’re adding either significant depth or new expertise that together makes that 56‑lawyer team really strong.”

Ballard Spahr, which long had one of the top‑ranked public finance practices in the municipal market, has exited the space, a spokesperson confirmed. The team had been listed continuously as a nationally recognized bond counsel firm in The Bond Buyer’s Municipal Marketplace since 1958, according to the firm’s website, and is regularly ranked by Thomson Reuters among the top firms in the country each year as bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel by dollar volume.

In 2024, Ballard Spahr ranked 10th among top bond counsels, accounting for $10.6 billion in par across 115 deals. The firm fell in the rankings in 2025 to 21st place, accounting for $6.3 billion across 72 transactions. Barnes & Thornburg did not rank in the top 100 of bond counsels in those years.

“Ballard Spahr was one of the first large law firms to create and develop a public finance practice, and it is an important part of our history,” said Ballard chair Peter Michaud in a statement to The Bond Buyer. “The lawyers in that group are first‑rate, and we will miss them on a personal level. But like a lot of other large firms in recent years, our focus over the years has shifted to other areas within finance, and the public finance practice is a better fit for another platform. We wish them every success.”

New partner Valarie Allen will join current partner Kimberly Blanchet in serving as department vice chairs for public finance, Barnes said. John Smolen and Steve Park will lead the Infrastructure practice.

The move came after the “extraordinarily cohesive” group began pondering its options last year, said Allen.

“Public finance is not a common practice and growth is typically a challenge no matter which firm,” she said. “We are passionate about the practice and we wanted to evaluate the best platform for this group. Far and away, Barnes and Thornburg was the way to go,” she added. “Just from that first meeting and getting to know the partners and lawyers, it’s turned out to be the perfect fit for us.”

Practice areas will cover the gamut from state and local governments, underwriting, health care, housing, education, municipal securities regulation, bankruptcies and default, the firm said.

“Our newly expanded bench positions Barnes & Thornburg in the nation’s top 10 practices for public finance and deepens the services and value we can provide to clients across the finance and regulatory landscape,” said Government Services and Finance Department chair Richard Hall in a statement.

Among the partners joining Barnes: William Rhodes and Kimberly Magrini in Philadelphia; Jeffrey Ballard, Andrew Spicknall, Charles Treece and Daniel Nunez in Washington, D.C.; Peter Lam in New York City; Silvia Shin and Emilie Ninan in Wilmington, Del.; and Teri Guarnaccia, Anastasia Khokhryakova and Michele Bax in Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix, respectively. The group also includes partner Benjamin Johnson, who previously practiced at Barnes & Thornburg.

The move comes as bond issuers are facing federal funding cuts and heightened needs, Allen said.

“We’re a group that pretty much wears every hat for every potential tax‑advantaged financing or infrastructure project, so even in markets where you might think there are some challenges because of federal funding, like affordable housing or healthcare or higher ed, even in those areas the demand for capital is still very high,” Allen said. “Our pipeline is very strong in 2026.”

The Indianapolis‑based firm has been in growth mode for years, boosting its ranks with strategic hires instead of acquisitions, Detherage said. It remains to be seen if they will hire more for the public finance group, he added.

“As people see what we’re building here I won’t be surprised if there are other opportunities created for us,” Detherage said. “We want to build the best public finance practice there is.”

Barnes & Thornburg now has public finance and infrastructure attorneys in 15 offices. Altogether the firm has approximately 850 lawyers in 26 U.S. offices.