Gregory L. Padgett is licensed to practice law in both Indiana and Illinois. After graduating from DePauw University summa cum laude in 1981, Mr. Padgett attended Northwestern University School of Law, graduating in the top third of his class in 1984. Mr. Padgett then joined the Kirkland & Ellis firm in Chicago, begining his training as a trial lawyer in complex commercial litigation, including class-action antitrust and trade regulation matters, intellectual property litigation, employment litigation and other business matters. Mr. Padgett also gained valuable experience in the federal courts, arguing and winning his first appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit at age 26.
Mr. Padgett returned home to central Indiana in 1988, joining Baker and Daniels and beginning his work in estate and trust litigation. He also handled securities fraud matters, insurance coverage litigation, employment disputes and business litigation. In addition to gaining first-chair experience on several cases at trial, Mr. Padgett briefed, argued and won two more federal appeals and one Indiana state court appeal prior to joining Johnson, Hall and Lawhead in 1992.
As a partner at Johnson, Hall and Lawhead, Mr. Padgett learned a great deal about the intricacies of wills, trusts and estate administration from some of the best trust, estate and tax counsel in the Indianapolis area. Mr. Padgett has handled virtually all forms of trust and estate litigation matters, including will contests, trust contests, claims in estates, accountings and objections, determinations of heirship, complex trust disputes and contested guardianships.
Greg Padgett has represented clients in the courtrooms of more than 30 of the counties of Indiana. Mr. Padgett was first selected to be profiled in "Who's Who in American Law" in 1995, and has appeared in that publication every year since. After just six years of practice in Indiana, he was named to the prestigious Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers, based on the confidential peer-review process conducted by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Padgett is a frequent chair, contributor and lecturer at continuing legal education seminars on estate, inheritance and trust litigation topics. He was named one of the "Outstanding Lawyers of America" in 2003.
After serving for four years as "Of Counsel" for estate and trust litigation matters at Barnes & Thornburg, Indiana's largest law firm, Mr. Padgett founded Padgett Law in March of 2004, with the idea of creating an Indiana law firm focused exclusively on estate and trust litigation.
Mr. Padgett married Ruth Anne Dorworth in 1982. They have three children and reside in Indianapolis.
