Indianapolis attorny Michael Freuhwald
Executive summary
Michael R. Fruehwald is a retired of‑counsel attorney formerly with Barnes & Thornburg’s Indianapolis office and a past chairman of that firm’s Litigation Department, where his practice concentrated in litigation [1]. Public directory listings and legal profiles reinforce his longtime presence in Indianapolis legal circles but offer only fragmented detail about his career, specialties and current activities [2] [3] [4].
1. Who he is and his firm affiliation
Firm materials identify Michael R. Fruehwald as “retired of counsel” in the Indianapolis office of Barnes & Thornburg and note that he previously chaired the firm’s Litigation Department, signaling senior leadership within a major Midwest law firm [1]. Map and directory aggregators likewise tie him to Barnes & Thornburg’s Indianapolis address, reflecting consistent firm affiliation across multiple public records [4].
2. Practice focus and reputation as recorded in directories
Profiles and legal directories list Fruehwald in categories tied to appellate practice, civil litigation and a range of litigation-related fields; Martindale and other listings present him as an Indianapolis appellate and general litigation lawyer and highlight peer-review metrics used by those services, which often indicate standing among colleagues though they are not independent performance audits [2] [5]. Public business listings characterize him as a litigation and tort attorney and provide contact and location details consistent with his long association with the city’s legal community [3].
3. Publicly available contact and location information
Multiple consumer-facing sites—Yellow Pages, MapQuest and attorney finder pages—list an Indianapolis address (11 S. Meridian St.) and phone data that align with the Barnes & Thornburg office listing, illustrating how commercial aggregators reproduce firm contact information for established attorneys [3] [4] [6]. Such listings are useful for locating a practitioner but do not substitute for an official bar roster or firm press release when confirming current licensing or employment status.
4. What the record does not clearly show
The assembled sources provide a clear signal that Fruehwald was a prominent litigating partner who moved into an of‑counsel, retired role, but they do not supply a full CV, dates of service, detailed case history, disciplinary records, or recent professional activities beyond directory status [1] [2]. Absent explicit, contemporaneous firm biographies, court dockets or bar association entries in the provided material, definitive statements about his current practice, recent matters or public engagements cannot be substantiated from these sources alone [1] [2].
5. How to read the available sources and potential biases
Firm bios and directory entries aim to present attorneys favorably for potential clients and therefore emphasize roles, specialties and office contact data; they can understate gaps or retirement nuances while commercial aggregators may duplicate stale information without verification [1] [3]. Conversely, neutral third‑party directories such as Martindale compile peer review indicators that suggest respect within the profession but should be interpreted as reputational signals rather than objective metrics of case outcomes [2].
6. Bottom line for someone researching Michael Fruehwald
The corroborated facts are straightforward: Michael R. Fruehwald is associated with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis, has been identified as past chair of its Litigation Department, and is listed in multiple attorney directories as a litigation and appellate practitioner; beyond that, the public snapshots supplied here leave substantive gaps about dates, casework and current activity that require direct firm confirmation, court record searches or a bar registry query to fill [1] [2] [3].