Stuart & Branigin LLP

Just after my one month anniversary with Stuart & Branigin LLP, I found out that I passed the Indiana Bar Exam with a score high enough to practice in any UBE jurisdiction. I will be officially sworn in as an Indiana attorney in a few weeks. I am appreciative of my family, friends, and colleagues who have supported me on this wild journey. Things are getting very official.

Shoutout to the awesome team Stuart & Branigin LLP! 11 of their team members just signed up to volunteer for our Read to Succeed program. We love how you Live United! Would you or your team like to join the fun? Contact Kelci Fox at [email protected]. Let's keep the momentum going! 💙

Shoutout to the awesome team Stuart & Branigin LLP! 11 of their team members just signed up to volunteer for our Read to Succeed program. We love how you Live United! Would you or your team like to join the fun? Contact Kelci Fox at [email protected]. Let's keep the momentum going! 💙

Experienced Higher-Ed Attorney Trenten Klingerman Rejoins Stuart & Branigin:   Stuart & Branigin warmly welcomes Trenten Klingerman’s return to partnership in the firm, effective July 15. Mr. Klingerman brings a wealth of higher-education expertise—most recently as Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel for the University of Vermont, and previously in several legal roles including Deputy General Counsel with Purdue University, his undergraduate alma mater. Before those in-house roles, Trent was a partner in the firm, both advising and litigating on behalf of employers of all sizes in employment-law and other matters. He will be joining the firm’s Education, Employer Services, and Litigation groups.

Stuart & Branigin LLP is pleased to have participated with its longstanding client, CSX Transportation, in assembling Operation Gratitude Battalion Buddies. Operation Gratitude’s mission is to offer support and appreciation for the men and women who serve our country in the Armed Forces by donating hand-stuffed teddy bears to the children of military service members. As a firm with a long-standing commitment to our clients and community involvement, we are proud to stand alongside CSXT as they show their support for our troops. A big thank you to CSX for including Stuart & Branigin in this meaningful and fun event

For twenty consecutive years, lawyers from Stuart & Branigin LLP have been named by Indiana Super Lawyers magazine as among the top attorneys in the state. One partner and one associate attorney are included in the 2024 edition of the listing, which recognizes lawyers for achievements in specific practice areas. The Stuart & Branigin honorees are Stephen R. Pennell, Civil Litigation: Defense and Matthew M. Humble, Civil Litigation: Defense. Pennell has been named by Super Lawyers each year since the list’s inception in 2004. Humble was also selected to the 2023 Rising Stars list by the magazine. Those named are among the top five percent of licensed attorneys in Indiana. Selections for Super Lawyers are made by Law & Politics magazine based on a multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

Stuart & Branigin LLP is proud to have seven attorneys awarded in the 30th edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Best Lawyers® recognitions are compiled based on an exhaustive Purely Peer Review® evaluation. For the 2024 edition, more than 13.7 million votes were analyzed, resulting in more than 76,000 leading lawyers included. This year’s identifies William P. Kealey for excellence in Commercial Litigation, and names Anthony S. Benton, Sarah N. Dimmich, David A. Locke, and Barry L. Loftus in Railroad Law. (Mr. Benton is also recognized for Education Law). Further, it recognizes James F. Olds in the field of Real Estate Law, and Thomas B. Parent for Trusts and Estates. Moreover, the organization’s 2024 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America recognizes associate Scotty N. Teal in both Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Law. Its “Ones to Watch” honorees are lawyers who have been in private practice for 5-9 years, and they too are identified through a peer-review process. For this year’s edition, more than 2.4 million votes were analyzed, resulting in more than 25,000 lawyers honored. Since 1878, Stuart & Branigin has been proud to represent a diverse array of individual and corporate clients in a wide range of practice areas. We invite you to contact these attorneys or any of their colleagues in our Commercial Litigation, Real Estate, and Transportation practice groups. 

Stuart & Branigin Partner Jim Olds and Associate Kirstie Klutzke are excited to be in Indianapolis today doing on campus interviews at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Each year we enjoy meeting the excellent students at McKinney and Mauer and getting to know these talented candidates.

2024 is off to a strong start for Stuart & Branigin partner Bill Kealey and associates Matt Humble, and Kirstie Klutzke who scored a defense verdict on January 26, 2024 following a week-long federal jury trial in Hammond, Indiana. Plaintiff alleged employment discrimination in Purdue University’s decision not to promote her to a tenured professorship in the School of Nuclear Engineering. She contended that the faculty “no” vote on her tenure candidacy was the result of one voter’s alleged discriminatory view of her. Plaintiff asserted her claim under a “cat’s paw” theory of employer liability, contending that a biased employee duped the employer into refusing her a promotion. The Stuart & Branigin team countered with evidence demonstrating that faculty members who voted on the promotion relied on their own evaluations of the research record that Plaintiff presented in her professional dossier. The trial team drew on Stuart & Branigin’s deep experience and knowledge in university law and representation of employers.