March 28, 2012 4:05 PM

Faegre Baker Daniels Fort Wayne Office Leader Shot Outside Home

Posted by Brian Baxter

For the second time in less than a week, an Am Law 100 partner has been attacked at home.

David Kuker, a corporate and real estate partner at Faegre Baker Daniels who heads the firm’s office in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is in serious condition after being shot outside his house by an intruder Tuesday morning.

Police—who as of Wednesday had not made an arrest in connection with the incident or identified the attacker’s motive—say Kuker was shot when he tried to escape his garage after being sprayed in the face with an unknown substance by an unidentified individual, according to local news reports.

Kuker_David

Kuker (pictured right) called out for help from his front yard to a female neighbor, who called 911. A K-9 police unit tracked the alleged shooter unthe trail ran cold, according to news reports. Fort Wayne police have not yet released a description of the suspect, who shot Kuker at least once, and are asking anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the area to contact them.

Faegre Baker Daniels issued a statement Tuesday regarding Kuker, who was taken to a local hospital by paramedics. The firm said Kuker’s injuries are not life-threatening.

“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Dave and his family during this time of recovery,” Faegre managing partner Andrew Humphrey said in the statement.

Kuker’s practice focuses on MA and private equity transactions, franchising issues, licensing, and joint ventures, as well as representing real estate developers and managers in commercial real estate deals. The 45-year-old partner, a past director and chairman of the nonprofit Christian Urban Ministries, joined legacy firm Baker Daniels in 1995.

The Indianapolis-based Am Law 200 firm confirmed last summer that it was in merger talks with Minneapolis-based Faegre Benson. The two firms announced two months later that they would officially combine operations on January 1, forming a new entity that appears destined to land on next year’s Am Law 100.

The incident involving Kuker came just a few days after Patrick Hicks, the head of Littler Mendelson‘s offices in Las Vegas and Reno, suffered stab wounds during a robbery of his home in Henderson, Nevada. As of Sunday night, Hicks was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

In 2010, Mary Jane Frisby, a former IP partner at another top Indianapolis-based firm, Barnes Thornburg, was killed in a tragic murder-suicide involving her estranged husband, according to our previous reports.

Photo: David Kuker, courtesy of Faegre Baker Daniels

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