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Florida In Brief
Florida In Brief
Florida is the fourth largest state in the US in terms of population, and the cities of Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami in particular are all major business hubs for the southeastern US as well as for international business in Latin America.The state’s nominal GDP in 2006 was over $713.5 billion, the fourth largest in the country and among the 20 largest in the world. 34 Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Florida, and it is home to four of the 100 fastest growing companies in the US. Among the leading Florida based companies based are Publix Supermarkets, the largest employee-owned supermarket chain in the United States with 2006 retail sales of $21.7 billion; IT product distributor Tech Data; AutoNation car dealers; home building company Lennar and Office Depot, which sold $15 billion of products and services in the 2006 fiscal year.
This range of industry and strength of economy is matched by a similar level of legal expertise, and this is reflected in the selection of over 400 leading lawyers in the following pages. Drawn from a range of firms, from boutiques to national and international entities, we have classified these experts under 24 areas of law. The following firms in this introduction stood out from the field for the depth and breadth of the expertise they command in Florida, and should be considered as the leaders in the state.
Editorial
Editorial: Florida
Editorial: Commercial Litigation in Florida
Litigation is big business in Florida and the state has produced many fine lawyers both as part of large firms and in focused boutiques. Greenberg Traurig LLP is the best represented firm, with five lawyers listed. This international firm’s worldwide links, deep bench strength and statewide coverage mean that the litigation department works like “a well-oiled machine”.
Editorial: Competition in Florida
As one might expect, the scope for competition law is smaller in Florida than it would be in New York or Washington, DC, for example. However, our research has uncovered ten individuals from eight firms, all with an excellent reputation for competition-related work. The selected individuals counsel and litigate on behalf of a diverse client base on matters including the laws concerning cartels, monopolisation and mergers, and in some cases all three.
Editorial: Construction in Florida
Despite recent turbulent times and uncertainty about the US mortgage market, construction remains a major industry in Florida. Our research identifies 26 lawyers from 17 firms who have proven levels of expertise representing a range of clients in the industry, including owners, contractors and subcontractors, in both contentious and non-contentious matters.
Editorial: Corporate Governace in Florida
Five years on from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, its effects are still being felt in boardrooms across the US, and corporate governance remains high on the agenda. Outside counsel continue to provide clients with guidance, advice and representation, and our research has identified 18 individuals from 11 firms who have proven track records in this field, and can counsel corporations on issues arising in routine operations and in extraordinary transactions.
Editorial: Corporate Immigration in Florida
This chapter identifies 27 individuals from 22 firms, all of whom are well equipped to handle the legal aspects of the immigration and naturalisation of skilled workers and their dependants on behalf of large corporate entities, investors, entertainers and individual businessmen and women. While a number of Florida’s leading full-service firms perform well in our research, the majority of the lawyers are sole practitioners or work out of immigration boutiques.
Profiled Firms
Firm Profiles: Florida
Akerman Senterfitt
Akerman Senterfitt traces its origins back to the 1920s, when Orlando attorneys Alexander Akerman and John Cheney founded the firm. Since that date it has become central to the Florida legal market; one of the firm’s earliest partners was instrumental in the routing of Interstate 4 through the Orlando area, the procurement of land for Disney World, and the founding of Sun Banks, now SunTrust.
Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP
Bilzin Sumberg’s Miami office is home to over 100 attorneys from a range of legal backgrounds. The firm serves national and international clients in a wide spectrum of industries, including construction, financial services, hospitality, manufacturing, technology and real estate. Ten Bilzin Sumberg partners are included in the following pages across six practice areas.
Carlton Fields PA
A Florida firm with an international profile, Carlton Fields PA is was one of the top performers in the research for this state book, with lawyers from the firm featuring 27 times in a total of 14 chapters.
Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP was founded in 1842 in Milwaukee and began operating in Florida in 1981. The following ten years witnessed mergers with Orlando firm van den Berg Gay Burke Wilson & Arkin PA, Tampa firm Hill Hill & Dickenson PA and Jacksonville’s Commander Legler Werber Dawes Sadler & Howell PA.
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Greenberg Traurig LLP is an international full service law firm with over 1,700 lawyers in offices throughout the US, Europe and Asia. Strategic alliances with Olswang in London and Brussels, Studio Santa Maria in Rome and Milan, and Hayabusa Asuka Law Offices in Tokyo strengthen its global footprint. With 36 listings on the following pages, Greenberg Traurig is as one of the publication’s best-represented firms. The nominations are divided between 16 of the 22 practice areas, highlighting the breadth and depth of expertise on offer to clients.
Focus On Corporate Counsel
Corporate Counsel Q&A: Florida
Florida Corporate Counsel: David Vetter
Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, Tech Data Corporation
Tech Data Corporation was founded in 1974 and began expanding rapidly in 1983, developing its target markets and redirecting its efforts toward servicing microcomputer resellers as a wholesale distributor. The company has emerged as a leading global provider of IT products, logistics management and other value-added services. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Tech Data and its subsidiaries operate in 26 fulfilment centres in the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. With more than 90,000 customers in over 100 countries, Tech Data generated $21.4 billion in sales for its fiscal year ended 31 January 2007.