Chris Bayh

Chris Bayh


Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Recognized since 2021

Indianapolis, Indiana

Practice Areas

Appellate Practice

Commercial Litigation

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Chris focuses his practice in representing clients in complex commercial disputes, serving as trial counsel in federal court, state court, arbitration tribunals, and administrative proceedings. His experience in business litigation spans a wide range of claims, including breach of contract, construction, corporate fraud, tortious interference, and unfair competition.

Chris has significant appellate experience, including a federal appellate clerkship and cases before state and federal appellate courts. He is a member of the firm's Appellate and Critical Motions Practice Group, is active in the Central Indiana appellate bar, and regularly lectures on appellate practice.

Chris practices in many aspects of government law on behalf of both private and public entities. He advises corporate clients in many areas of government business, such as contractual relationships, regulatory compliance, and investigation and enforcement actions. He also brings and defends constitutional challenges to federal, state, and local laws and regulations. His constitutional experience includes litigation of the Commerce Clause, due process, equal protection, full faith and credit, federal preemption, sovereign immunity, abstention, comity, habeas relief, and the First, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as related state constitutional provisions.

Chris works with colleges and universities of all sizes, ranging from small colleges with enrollment in the low hundreds to major state universities with enrollment over 40,000. He represents and counsels these clients in diverse areas of law. These include civil defense, investigation and enforcement actions, financial responsibility, Title IV student financial aid litigation and compliance, and Title IX litigation and compliance.

Chris is active in the Central Indiana community. He sits on the executive committee for the Indianapolis Bar Association's Appellate Practice Section. He serves on the IUPUI Board of Advisors, a group composed of local government, business, and civic leaders appointed by the IU Board of Trustees.

Chris is also committed to battling homelessness. He serves on the board of directors of Horizon House, an agency that provides vital services for Indianapolis residents experiencing homelessness. He also works as a volunteer attorney with the Indianapolis Bar Association's Homeless Shelter Project.

Before joining the firm, Chris was an associate at a Vault top-20 law firm in Washington, D.C., where he handled complex litigation matters. Before entering private practice, Chris clerked for Judge David F. Hamilton of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chris earned his J.D. cum laude in 2009 from Washington University in St. Louis and earned his bachelor's with high distinction from Indiana University in 2004. While in college, Chris played football under Coach Cam Cameron, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors, and served as an assistant probation officer for Monroe County, Indiana.

Contact & Links
Location
  • 11 South Meridian Street
    Indianapolis, IN 46204-3535
Education
  • Washington University in St. Louis, J.D., graduated 2009
  • Washington University in St. Louis, graduated 2009

Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Indianapolis, Indiana

293 The Best Lawyers in America® awards

109 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America awards

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Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 for work in:
  • Appellate Practice
  • Commercial Litigation
Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Education Law
  • Sports Law

Publications

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