Tim A. Baker was appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana in 2001. From 1995 until his appointment to the bench, Judge Baker served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. Prior to serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Judge Baker was in private practice from 1991 to 1995 with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis, and from 1989 until 1991 served as a law clerk to the Hon. Larry J. McKinney of the Southern District of Indiana.

Judge Baker graduated with distinction from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1989, where he was an editor of and contributor to the law review. He graduated from Indiana University in 1984 with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism, where he was an award-winning writer for the university newspaper. After graduating from IU, Judge Baker was a writer for a daily newspaper in Indiana before attending law school.

Judge Baker has held various leadership positions in the Indiana State Bar Association and the Indianapolis Bar Association. Judge Baker was appointed to a two-year term on the ISBA Board of Governors in 2007, and has served as a member of the ISBA House of Delegates since 2005. Judge Baker served as chair of the ISBA’s Federal Judiciary Committee from 2005-07, and received a Presidential Citation in 2007 for his service to the ISBA.

Judge Baker’s IBA activities include serving on the IBA Board of Managers from 2003-05, during which time he was appointed as the IBA’s first Professionalism Coordinator. In this capacity, Judge Baker spearheaded an initiative to increase professionalism and civility among the bar and improve the image of lawyers. Judge Baker also served on the IBA’s Professionalism Committee from 2006-07. These efforts contributed to the IBA receiving the 2007 American Bar Association E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award. Judge Baker also has served as an instructor for the IBA Applied Professionalism Course since 2004, which teaches professionalism to newer lawyers. Judge Baker also served as chair the IBA’s Labor and Employment Law Section in 2000 and was a founding co-chair of the Student Law Division in 2002-03. In 2002, Judge Baker was selected as a Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation.

Judge Baker has published numerous articles in law reviews, magazines, and other publications, and is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education and related seminars. Through his writings and presentations, Judge Baker addresses a variety of topics affecting the federal courts, including rules and procedure, trial practice, discrimination law and other substantive issues, professionalism, and alternative dispute resolution. He has served as a speaker at the Department of Justice National Advocacy Center, and in 2004 was awarded the IBA’s Dr. John Morton Finney, Jr. Award for Excellence in Legal Education.