You know the song. Don’t lie. If you lived anywhere near New York, California, or basically any major TV market in the Northeast over the last twenty years, that jingle is burned into your brain like a brand. Eight hundred, eight-eight-eight, eight-eight, eight-eight. It was more than a phone number; it was a cultural landmark. But then, almost overnight, the billboards changed. The commercials got weird. The duo that seemed inseparable—Ross Cellino and Stephen Barnes—vanished into a messy, public, and ultimately tragic divorce that no one saw coming.
Honestly, people still ask what happened to cellino and barnes because the breakup felt like your parents splitting up, if your parents were high-powered personal injury attorneys with a multi-million dollar ad budget.
The Petty Battle That Killed an Empire
It wasn't some grand philosophical disagreement that started the fire. It was family. Specifically, Ross Cellino’s daughter.
Back in 2017, Ross Cellino filed a lawsuit to dissolve the firm. Why? Because Steve Barnes allegedly refused to hire Ross’s daughter, Jeanna, as an attorney at the firm. Barnes reportedly argued it was about avoiding "nepotism," which sounds professional until you realize Barnes’s own brother and girlfriend were already on the payroll.
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That was the spark. The fire that followed was a three-year legal cage match.
They couldn't even agree on how to say goodbye. Ross wanted to split and go his own way; Steve wanted to keep the machine running. They were making an obscene amount of money—reports from the court filings suggested the firm was pulling in profits that would make most Wall Street bankers blush—yet they spent years arguing over who owned the phone number and who got to keep the jingle.
The pettiness was legendary. At one point, Ross Cellino was blocked from the firm’s office. He even started a rival firm with his wife and daughter called "Cellino & Cellino," which led to another lawsuit from Barnes, who claimed it was confusing the public. It was a mess.
The Final Split and the Tragedy
By the summer of 2020, they finally reached a settlement. The divorce was official.
Ross Cellino launched Cellino Law.
Stephen Barnes launched The Barnes Firm.
They split the staff, they split the cases, and they even split the phone numbers. Ross kept the famous 888-888-8888 in many markets, while Barnes moved toward a new identity. It seemed like the drama was finally over and they were both going to just go back to being rich, separate lawyers.
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Then, October 2, 2020, happened.
Steve Barnes was piloting his small private plane—a Socata TBM 700—from Manchester, New Hampshire, back to Buffalo. He had his niece, Elizabeth Barnes, on board. About 15 miles east of Buffalo, something went wrong. Barnes told air traffic controllers "everything's fine" just minutes before the plane went into a rapid, spiraling descent.
It crashed in a wooded area in Pembroke, New York. Both Steve and Elizabeth were killed instantly.
The NTSB eventually investigated, but they couldn't find a definitive mechanical reason for the crash. They called it a "loss of control for undetermined reasons." Just like that, one half of the most famous legal duo in American history was gone.
Why We Still Care in 2026
You’d think a lawyer breakup would be boring business news. But what happened to cellino and barnes became a piece of folklore. It even inspired an off-Broadway play called Cellino v. Barnes.
Why? Because they represented a specific era of American "loud" advertising. They were the kings of the "hurt in a car?" era. When the firm dissolved and Barnes passed away, it felt like the end of a very specific, very kitschy chapter of the legal world.
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Today, the landscape is different:
- The Barnes Firm continues to operate, now led by Steve’s brother, Rich Barnes. They kept the purple and gold branding and a very similar "style" to the original ads.
- Cellino Law is Ross’s kingdom now, featuring his daughters prominently in the practice. He kept the "Call 8" branding and that iconic phone number.
- The Jingle is technically dead in its original form, though both firms have tried to capture that same "earworm" energy with their new solo branding.
Moving Forward: What This Means for You
If you're looking at this because you actually need a lawyer, the takeaway is simple: the "big names" you see on TV aren't always a single happy family. When a massive firm splits like this, the legal talent usually stays the same, but the culture changes.
If you’re researching a firm today, don’t just go by the catchy song. Look at the specific attorney who will be handling your file. In the wake of the Cellino and Barnes split, many veteran attorneys from the old firm moved to one side or the other.
Actionable Steps:
- Check the Lead Attorney: If you liked a specific lawyer at the old firm, look them up on LinkedIn to see if they are now at Cellino Law or The Barnes Firm.
- Review the Settlement History: Both firms inherited the "win big" mentality of the original partnership, but their current case results are now separate. Check their individual websites for recent 2024-2025 verdicts.
- Verify the Location: Since the split, both firms have expanded or retracted in different cities. Make sure they actually have a physical office near you before signing a retainer.
The era of the duo is over, but the machinery they built is still very much alive.