It's something of an exaggeration to cast John Barbour as a long shot to succeed Thomas VanKirk as CEO of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC.
But Barbour said leading Pittsburgh's third-largest law firm was "probably the opposite" of his intentions when Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling PC, where he was managing shareholder, merged into Buchanan Ingersoll PC two years ago.
"I anticipated spending more time practicing law and less time managing," Barbour said.
He became an executive shareholder and chief diversity and integration officer, and concentrated on his practice, which centers on real estate development and financing. Now, he's poised to become the firm's CEO next June.
"It just evolved with me being the natural successor to Tom," Barbour said. "I don't know if I changed my mind as much as perhaps my talents led me in that direction. I didn't (originally) even intend to work for an extremely large firm, but things change all the time in this business."
When he takes the helm, he said, his primary focus will be on growing practice groups in existing offices, "particularly on the East Coast and California." Barbour also wants to expand Buchanan into new cities that would benefit from its current practices -- particularly in California.
Lori Carpenter, president of Downtown-based recruitment firm Carpenter Legal Search, said Barbour has a strong business acumen. "Jack is a quiet leader and good listener, and coming into this role at this time in a firm that still has some integrating to do will help that process," Carpenter said.
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Barbour prepares for familiar position -- as chief - by Patty Tascarella, Pittsburgh Business Times