Robert A. Wagner, Retired

As a young man, I was certain that more than just a four year college education was needed in preparation for my life ahead. But what course of study? At the urging of a good friend, I enrolled in law school with him at Indiana University, Bloomington. My friend convinced me that I could not receive a more preparatory formal education. Today I continue to gain knowledge in the areas in which I practice through continuing education and varied experiences, each client's situation being unique.

Over the years, I have served clients in many areas of general practice. I began practicing law as the associate of a solo practitioner. After several years, I left to accept offers as a part-time deputy prosecuting attorney here in Allen County and part-time taxation and estate administration specialist with Fort Wayne National Bank Trust Department, the latter of which became a full-time position the following year. After three years at the bank, in part because of the experience and contacts gained there, I was invited to return to the practice of law by a prestigious local firm. I also returned to a part-time deputy prosecuting attorney position in which I served for nearly seven years as Chief Trial Deputy for most of the term. The growth of my private practice then required me to commit to it full-time, and for nearly a decade after leaving the prosecutor's office my practice areas included those in which I no longer offer services such as criminal law, domestic relations, bankruptcy, and personal injury, although others in this law firm do. The primary areas in which I have now practiced for many years include estate and personal planning, estate and trust administration, taxation, with a focus in individual and fiduciary income, and gift and estate transfer taxes, small business, and real estate.