Overview
A native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Barnes follows a family tradition into liberty-defending law. His Rhode Island great-grandfathers, centuries before, refused a new American government without a Bill of Rights guaranteeing an individual’s liberty. A scholarship graduate of the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Barnes, a Coca-Cola National Scholar award recipient, subsequently received a scholarship to attend Yale University.
After Yale University announced intentions to exclude students in the admissions process based solely on their lack of income or familial ties to the university, Barnes left the school in protest to draw attention to the issue. Yale subsequently reversed its policies and kept a “need-blind” admissions policy to this day. Barnes then received a fellowship to attend law school at the University of Wisconsin, where he graduated with honors and myriad awards for academic excellence, including the Mathys Award for oral argument and effective advocacy.
Barnes is licensed to practice in California, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, as well as admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California, Northern District of Florida, Western District of Wisconsin, the United States Tax Court, and federal appeals courts for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Eleventh Circuit Court of appeals, while he has represented clients before even more state courts across the country, more than three dozen federal district courts across the country, as well as First Circuit Court of Appeals, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court. Barnes also represented clients in matters throughout the international legal world, including the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, the Channel Islands, the European Union, Switzerland, Monaco, Russia, Singapore, Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia, and wherever clients needs beckoned.