Font Size: 
Zuckerman to Close Miami Office in Wake of Exodus to Carlton Fields
Daily Business Review
March 20, 2008
Zuckerman Spaeder is closing its Miami office following the defection of four out of five partners to Carlton Fields.
"We have begun the process of closing our Miami office," Zuckerman chairman Graeme Bush said Wednesday in a news release. "Our Florida presence will continue with our strong group of lawyers in Tampa."
Bolting for Carlton are managing partner Walter Tache and partners Michael S. Pasano, Stephen J. Bronis and Thomas J. Meeks and of counsel Paul A. Calli, a statement from Carlton said Wednesday. The former Zuckerman lawyers are joining Carlton as partners. "We are thrilled to welcome these outstanding attorneys to our team," Carlton managing shareholder Charles M. Rosenberg said.
Pasano described the departure as "more than amicable" but noted he and his colleagues wanted to join a practice with an emphasis on Florida. Carlton Fields is based in Tampa with offices in Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach. Its only office outside Florida is in Atlanta.
"From the Zuckerman perspective, I think for a while we had been thinking about looking to have a different platform for our practice -- specifically a Florida firm with offices in Miami, Tampa and elsewhere," he said. "We are Florida-based, and Carlton gives us a great opportunity to do that."
The move substantially beefs up Carlton's regional presence in white-collar criminal defense -- Pasano, Bronis and Calli are white-collar specialists with experience as prosecutors and public defenders.
Zuckerman started its Miami practice in 1979 when John F. Evans left the firm's Washington headquarters for the opening.
It is unclear where the firm's one remaining partner, Jennifer Rae Coberly, is headed, and the future of its two of counsel attorneys, Steven Wisotsky and Martin I. Kalish. Wisotsky holds a part-time position with the firm and is a tenured law professor at Nova Southeastern University. He said he is weighing his options. The other two Zuckerman attorneys did not return calls seeking comment before deadline.
David Kinchen, the firm's marketing director in Miami, also did not return calls for comment.
Rosenberg said Carlton is currently interviewing Zuckerman's seven Miami associates.
Zuckerman lost 20-year managing partner Ronald Ravikoff to Akerman Senterfitt earlier this year, and white-collar defense attorneys Steven Chaykin and Daniel Gelber also defected to Akerman in November 2006.
Pasano spent 23 years at Zuckerman and reflected Wednesday on the firm's hurdles while he was there. Conflict issues caused by the firm's nationwide presence eventually emerged and made growing a Miami practice challenging, he said. Zuckerman's rapid expansion meant it became difficult for Miami-based partners to grow their book of business due to the conflicts that would arise with existing clients, he said.
"Zuckerman was a boutique that grew nationally big and became less perfect as time went on, and that happens sometimes," Pasano said. "The challenge is to either be small enough or big enough to serve your clients, and the Miami partners began to look more to Florida."
Zuckerman's exit from Miami is hardly unprecedented. A decade ago, the Miami office of Pittsburgh-based Eckert Seamans Cherin & Melott closed after its three remaining partners, Harvey W. Gurland Jr., William R. Nuernberg and Charles C. Papy III, decided to leave. Shortly before that, internal miscalculations and conflicts contributed to the shuttering of the South Florida offices of Chicago-based Jenner & Block and New York-based Kelley Drye & Warren. The two firms closed shop in Miami but still maintain high national profiles.
Joe Ankus, a legal recruiter and consultant based in Fort Lauderdale, said Zuckerman had one of the best work environments for attorneys and struck a good balance between work and lifestyle. "It's very sad because they were one of the best firms I could ever place anybody at," he said. "It was one of Miami's best-kept secrets. It was a great place to work."
