John C. Smarrella is a partner in the Corporate Department in the South Bend, Indiana office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP and is a member of the firm’s Renewable Energy and Entrepreneurial Services Practice Groups. He concentrates his practice on corporate matters and has considerable experience in acquisitions and dispositions of business entities, joint ventures and other business collaborations. His practice also includes advising closely-held companies on a variety of business matters, including succession planning, long-term supply, manufacturing, licensing and other agreements, tax matters and executive compensation. Mr. Smarrella regularly represents clients in the solar energy industry on engineering, procurement and construction projects and other corporate matters.
Mr. Smarrella graduated magna cum laude from Greenville College, Greenville, Ill., in 1991 with a B.A. in business management and political science and received his J.D. magna cum laude from the Notre Dame Law School in 1996, where he served as lead research and project editor of the Notre Dame Law Review. Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, he served as a judicial law clerk for Judge John G. Baker of the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Mr. Smarrella is a member of the Indiana State Bar Association and a past chairman of the Business Law Section of the Indiana State Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in Indiana and before the U.S. Tax Court.
Mr. Smarrella is active in the local community and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra Association, Downtown South Bend, Inc., Spring Hill Camps, Inc. and St. Mark Missionary Church. He also is a past member of the board of directors of Ray Bird Ministries. In 2007, he was named to the Michiana region “Forty under 40” list. He was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in 2013 in the areas of Corporate Law and Employee Benefits.