Akerman Senterfitt

01 November 2007

Akerman Senterfitt in Who's Who Legal: Florida

1982 saw the opening of an office in Miami – currently the firm’s largest and the largest of any firm in the city – and since then the firm has expanded its Florida presence with further offices in Tampa, Tallahassee, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville. Growth has occurred elsewhere in the US; in 2004 the firm opened an office in Washington DC, a New York office in 2005 and in 2006 the firm added offices in Tysons Corner, Madison and Los Angeles, when 30 attorneys joined from Wickwire Gavin. Today, the firm has 500 attorneys and consultants, and 35 entries in this book from six of its Florida offices across 17 practice areas; a breadth and depth of expertise that places it among the state’s leading law firms.

The firm earned four nominees in both the capital markets and the insurance & reinsurance chapters. In the former, Akerman Senterfitt has the greatest showing of any firm in the state: four of the lawyers from its “fabulous department” make the cut. Stephen Roddenberry is a “key player” in the area and his peers praised the international aspect of his practice. Jonathan Awner was described as a “top flight capital markets practitioner”, while the “technically brilliant” Bradley Houser also appears. The firm’s other representative is Teddy Klinghoffer, who chairs the private equity and venture capital practice group, and, like Roddenberry, is a leading figure in three areas of law: they also appear in the corporate governance chapter – Klinghoffer described as an “outstanding corporate lawyer” and Roddenberry as “the guy that people go to” – and along with Jonathan Awner make up the firm’s three nominees in the M&A chapter.

Akerman Senterfitt claims to have handled more transactions than any other law firm in Florida – well over $10 billion worth of transactions since 1995 – and Roddenberry was described as “a cut above the rest” in the research for this chapter. Klinghoffer was praised for his “detail oriented and efficient service to clients”, while chair of the firm’s corporate practice group Jonathan Awner is “very visible on deals” and has acted as lead counsel to a range of clients in over 300 mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs and restructurings of both private and public companies, with an aggregate transaction value of over $10 billion.

The firm is also one of only two in the insurance chapter with four nominees. The highly regarded Bruce Culpepper is based in Tallahassee, and is joined by Allan Katz and Edward Kutter from the same office. Katz served as assistant insurance commissioner and general counsel for the State of Florida Insurance Department and has “excellent pedigree”; Kutter also has a background within the same department and is a “top-tier regulatory lawyer”. Marcy Levine Aldrich co-chairs the firm’s insurance practice group and is based in the firm’s Miami office. Respondents commented on her “exceptional legal mind” and she was recommended as an “outstanding trial lawyer”, particularly for class action defence.

The firm gained triple representation in four further chapters. Akerman Senterfitt’s banking group has a “huge presence in the Florida market” and has been “present at many of the key developments in the region”, such as the drafting of a number of Florida’s banking laws. The firm also possesses a “fantastic record for transactional work”, and has acted for clients such as Bank of America, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, SunTrust Banks of Florida and Union Planters Bank. Three of the firm’s practitioners from the Orlando office appear. The “tremendous” CEO and chair of the firm’s financial institutions group Thomas Cardwell was recommended for his regulatory work and counts Wachovia Corporation, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Ernst & Young among his clients. President of Doctor Phillips Inc Fruit company Virginia Townes was also recommended as a “fabulous regulatory and litigation lawyer” in this field.

Akerman Senterfitt is one of only two firms to earn three nominees in the insolvency and restructuring chapter, all from separate offices, and the firm’s recent clients in this field include Lockheed Martin, AutoNation and TNT Logistix. Francis Carter is of counsel to the Miami office, past chairman of the Florida Bar’s Bankruptcy/UCC Committee and described as the “senior ambassador of the bankruptcy bar”. Michael Goldberg is the sole representative from the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office in this book, and he is regarded as a “national authority” on Ponzi schemes. Jules Cohen chairs the bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice group and is “one of the deans
in Orlando”.

Environmental law is another area of strength. The firm has a “first rate environment department”, led in terms of nominations by Michael Goldstein, one of Florida’s premier brownfield practitioners. Silvia Alderman is a former deputy general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, while William Pence has a client list that includes the Central Florida Gas Company, Florida Public Utilities Company and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Akerman Senterfitt also boasts a “substantial real estate practice”, with recent high-profile transactions including the representation of the Boca Resorts Hotel Corporation in its US$320 million acquisition of Boca Raton Hotel and Club. Julie Williamson is “very highly thought of” for commercial leasing and insurance matters, while chair of the practice group Andrew Smulian is an “outstanding dealmaker” with a strong real estate finance and transactional practice. Janice Russell was commended for her “excellent academic and transactional abilities”, especially in the field of marina development.

The firm is one of only two firms to provide more than one lawyer for the commercial arbitration chapter. Edward Davis is based in the Miami office and former chief judge of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as well as a member of the panel of arbitrators for the International Centre for Dispute Resolution. Burton Landy is a “fantastically able practitioner with first class international knowledge”, who has served as arbitrator and as counsel in a number of international panels and tribunals under ICC, AAA, ICDR, UNCITRAL and ICSID rules.

Akerman Senterfitt has one of the largest employee benefits practices in Florida, and lawyers from its Miami and Orlando offices feature in the corresponding chapter. Richard Hurt’s plan preparation work is “of the highest calibre”. His colleague Peter Salomon counts Samsung Electronics America, Lennar Corporation and The Geo Group among his clients in this area, and he is co-chair of the employee benefits section of the Florida bar. In the shipping and maritime chapter, the “technically strong” Anthony Cuva’s product liability practice is said to be “top of the line”, and the “very capable” Margaret Mathews is regarded as “the go-to person for harbour pilots in the state”.

Other Akerman Senterfitt shareholders appear in six further chapters. The firm’s IP strength is reflected by a presence in both the patent and trademark chapters. Rodman Steele is “the dean of our patents bar” and the most highly nominated individual in the research; the “hugely competent” Jill Sarnoff Riola is a former senior trademark and copyright counsel at Apple Computers who was recognised for complex trademark transaction work. Elsewhere, Henry Raattama is “the best for exempt organisations tax”, according to one source a former chair of the Florida bar tax section and a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. In the construction chapter, former chair of the construction certification committee of the Florida bar Kimberly Ashby is “very visible, extremely active and a leader in the field”, while James Bramnick chairs the labour and employment practice group at the firm and is especially well-known for his “stellar” practice.

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