Summary: DLA Piper is closing their Tampa office, moving the attorneys working there to either the expanding Miami office or other locations.
DLA Piper spokesman Josh Epstein released the announcement stating, “Effective in early 2016, we plan to consolidate lawyers and staff from our Tampa office into the firm’s Miami office and Tampa-based administrative service center and subsequently eliminate redundant office space at 100 North Tampa Street in downtown Tampa.”
The Tampa office currently has around 10 lawyers working from it. The Miami office opened in 2011 and still has open office space. The location has been highly successful with the new additions of Francisco Cerezo and Emil Infante as partners. The Miami office has around 33 lawyers.
Tampa has struggled since several lawyers left to start Quarles & Brady’s Tampa office five years ago. Seven lawyers left to join the Milwaukee-based firm including the managing partner David Beyer. The lawyers all specialized in franchise operations.
The lawyers at the Tampa office focused on franchise and distribution, finance and transactional, real estate, environmental, internal investigations and compliance, government contracts, class actions, and commercial, construction, and product liability litigation.
Rumors are floating around that one DLA Tampa lawyer will join the Seattle office and another will move up to the Washington D.C. office. Many are not surprised by the announcement since the Tampa Bay area is considered “a lower-rate, second-tier market” with very few AmLaw 25 firms choosing to have offices in the area.
Source: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/id=1202745506982
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