Joshua Claybourn
Joshua Claybourn is a business and public-law attorney known for careful preparation, sound judgment, and practical results. Clients turn to him when law, government, and commerce intersect—whether structuring a deal, protecting a brand, testing public action against constitutional limits, or navigating regulatory complexity.
His range is wider than most. He has argued constitutional questions, guided utilities through rate cases, closed corporate deals, and built trademark portfolios for national brands. He also writes books, and the habit shows. A clear argument on paper is a clear argument in court.
Business, Transactions, and Intellectual Property
Joshua advises startups, closely held companies, established businesses, and large public corporations on corporate transactions, commercial agreements, intellectual property, and strategic growth. His work includes entity formation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, contract drafting and negotiation, licensing, and major economic development projects.
He also helps clients build, protect, and monetize brands and other intellectual property assets across business, banking, entertainment, publishing, and related fields. World IP Review has recognized him as a trademark “Leader,” a distinction reserved for leading practitioners worldwide.
Government and Utilities
Joshua represents counties, municipalities, redevelopment commissions, utilities, and other public bodies on the legal issues that shape state and local government: finance, infrastructure, economic development, tax abatements, public-private projects, zoning, land use, public records, ethics, annexation, reorganization, funding, budgeting, and regulatory compliance.
His utility practice draws on six years of in-house experience at a Fortune 500 gas and electric utility, where he managed regulatory approvals before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, including base rate cases, tracker proceedings, and related matters. That experience gave him a practical understanding of how utilities plan, invest, and make decisions. He now advises municipal water and sewer utilities, energy developers, industrial consumers, and public entities on supply agreements, contract disputes, leases, bond financings, zoning and land use, and rate cases, including proceedings involving some of Indiana’s largest and smallest utilities.
Appellate and Constitutional Practice
Joshua has participated in groundbreaking litigation. He organized a broad, bipartisan coalition of former U.S. senators, a retired attorney general, retired federal judges, national-security officials, and leading legal scholars from across the ideological map to file an amici curiae brief in Learning Resources v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc. The brief proved influential in two district courts and an appellate court in overturning massive federal tariffs, and the Supreme Court affirmed the tariffs were illegal.
As an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute, he has written and litigated on the limits of public power and legislative checks during emergencies. That work reflects a central theme of his practice: government must have room to act, but it must act through lawful authority, proper procedure, and constitutional limits.
Representative Matters
Credentials
Education
- Indiana University McKinney School of Law, J.D. (2006) — Moot Court Honor Society
- Indiana University Kelley School of Business, B.S. (2003) — Honors College
Bar Admissions
- Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
Recognition
Joshua Claybourn has been recognized for leadership in law, business, and civic life. World IP Review has named him a trademark "Leader," a distinction reserved for leading practitioners worldwide. Huski.ai also named him one of the top 30 U.S. trademark attorneys specializing in artificial intelligence.
He was selected for the inaugural Indiana 250, IBJ Media's annual list of the 250 most influential and impactful leaders in Indiana. Earlier in his career, he was included in the Evansville Courier & Press's first "20 Under 40" list and named to Indiana Lawyer's inaugural list of "Up and Coming Lawyers," recognizing attorneys practicing 10 years or less who show exceptional commitment to the profession.
Beyond the Law
Joshua has spent years studying Abraham Lincoln—particularly his Indiana youth, the years that shaped everything that followed. He serves as President of the Abraham Lincoln Association and sits on the board of the Abraham Lincoln Institute. He previously co-chaired the Southern Indiana Civil War Roundtable.
His authored books include Lincoln's Compass: The Declaration of Independence and the American Idea (Bloomsbury, 2026) and a forthcoming book on the history of Lincoln's formation. He has appeared in national television documentaries and written for major newspapers and law reviews.
He also serves on the board of Indiana Landmarks and previously held leadership roles at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, Evansville Sports Corp, and WNIN Tri-State Public Media.