In 1979, John M. Carnahan, III, a third generation tax attorney practicing in Springfield, Missouri, and a recent graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, Masters of Law Tax Program, joined with his father, John M. Carnahan, Jr., retired head of the largest bank trust department in southwest Missouri, to form the law firm of Carnahan and Carnahan, P.C. Within a year, William E. Evans, a tax attorney with a Masters of Law in Taxation from Southern Methodist University, joined the firm. The firm continued to grow as outstate Missouri's preeminent tax, business and corporate law firm. With a current total of seven attorneys of the firm with their Masters of Law in Taxation, the firm offers advice on estate, corporate, personal, sales, gift and other taxation issues.

Within a few years, Clifford S. Brown joined the firm to oversee its Estate Planning Practice Group and help the firm become outstate Missouri's preeminent estate planning firm consisting of five attorneys, offering estate planning, probate and trust administration throughout the state.

In 1995, the firm expanded by offering comprehensive dispute resolution services. The firm's Dispute Resolution Practice Group has grown to seven attorneys, handling commercial disputes including the litigation, arbitration and mediation of business, transactional, commercial, securities, employment, environmental, probate, non-competition and confidentiality, copyright, banking, trademark and trade name, entertainment, real estate, condemnation, zoning, regulatory, licensing, franchise, and insurance disputes. In 2000, former City Manager and City Attorney, Don G. Busch, joined the firm to expand the firm's practice to include local government law and land development.

The three practice areas of the firm overlap due to the related nature of these services, resulting in a powerful synergy, which greatly benefits firm clientele.

In December of 2004, the firm expanded again with the opening of a branch office in Branson, Missouri and merging with The Law Offices of Russell W. Cook, due to the demand of the Branson market for the firm's services. Russ, with a Masters of Law in Taxation from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, brings extensive knowledge in the areas of mixed-use real estate projects, condominium and resort developments, retail shopping centers, and large financing transactions.

Celebrating over a quarter-century of service, the attorneys at CECB are active in the affairs of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, and The American Bar Association. The firm's attorneys have been recognized locally, regionally, and nationally by their peers.

While the firm prides itself on the integrity of the legal work we perform, we are also deeply committed to our service in civic and charitable activities, including serving on the Boards of organizations such as the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri, the Springfield-Greene County Library Foundation, the Discovery Center, and the Developmental Center of the Ozarks.