Back in the Saddle

REVIEW SUMMARY
Firm. Fowler White Boggs
Industry. Law
Key. Florida corporate-law firms hedge their success with international business.

Entrepreneurs in all industries take advantage of opportunities in downturns.

Attorneys are no exception.

The Tampa-based commercial-law firm Fowler White Boggs is growing again after the high-profile spinoff of its insurance-litigation business two years ago. It recently announced that attorneys with the Fort Lauderdale firm of Atkinson Diner would join its ranks.

Besides Fort Lauderdale, the firm is growing its Jacksonville and Fort Myers offices and has its sights set on Miami and Orlando through mergers and acquisitions.

Among the promising opportunities, Fowler White says it is banking on growth in international business. “If you can add an international-trade component, you are much more able to withstand a downturn in the economy,” reasons Rhea Law, the firm's CEO and chair.

International diversification has helped Florida-based companies and the law firms who served them survive the real estate collapse. Fowler White has grown its international tax, immigration and corporate law practices in recent years in what Law coins “internationally connected with a Florida focus.”

The firm is betting its focus on establishing offices within the major areas of Florida will vault it among the top three firms for commercial law in the state, says Joseph Coleman, Fowler White's president. Coleman contrasts that with the fact that many of its Florida-based rivals have expanded outside the state.

Coleman also says the firm charges companies much less than the hourly fees national rivals charge. At about $450 an hour, Fowler White's work compares favorably to firms that charge as much as double that, Coleman says. Fowler White projects revenues of $57 million this year, up nearly 10% in the last two years. Next year, including Atkinson Diner, the firm projects revenues of $60 million.

More deals ahead
In 2009, Fowler White's senior partner, Robert Banker, led about 60 attorneys to form a new Tampa firm specializing in corporate-defense trial law called Banker Lopez Gassler.

At its height in 2006, Coleman says Fowler White had about 240 attorneys. After Banker's spin off, the firm's ranks shrank to 116 lawyers. Now, including a dozen attorneys from Atkinson Diner, Fowler White will have 145 attorneys.

Coleman says the goal is to be among the top three firms businesses always will consider for Florida corporate work. Other Florida firms that specialize in corporate law across Florida include Akerman Senterfitt, Carlton Fields, Greenberg Traurig, Gunster, Holland & Knight and Stearns Weaver.

Law firms haven't been immune to the economic downturn, presenting opportunities for firms that seek to grow. “It's allowed us to recruit lawyers,” says Coleman, who has a passion for motorcycles. For example, the firm's office in Jacksonville has grown to 30 attorneys in the last two years.

Although Coleman declined to divulge the exact terms of the Atkinson Diner deal, he says its attorneys will become shareholders in Fowler White by May. Future deals may be structured in a similar way or they could be outright acquisitions.

“You've got to make sure the sum of the parts is a multiple, not an addition,” says Wilson Atkinson III, who recently represented singer Jimmy Buffett in his quest to build a $100 million Margaritaville resort in Hollywood.

The increasingly international flavor of business in Florida means boutique firms such as Atkinson Diner need a deeper bench. “I represent mostly developers and putting large deals together,” Atkinson says. “Today, that involves putting deals together with foreign investors.”

Coleman says Florida will benefit from the widening of the Panama Canal, and it's already seen a boost from trade with successful South American countries such as Brazil. But investors come from as far as South Africa, he notes.

Deals such as the one with Atkinson Diner have been a long time in the making. “About five or six years ago, they approached us, but we weren't ready,” Atkinson says. “We really had a good feeling, but we weren't ready to give up our independence at that time.”

Now, Atkinson says the firm needed to join Fowler White to grow. “Most of the named partners are in their 60s,” Atkinson says. “They're getting us at our peak.”

Florida's recovery
Fowler White is banking on Florida's recovery, though Coleman acknowledges that could take two to four more years. Coleman has a good perspective on that because he also works on the firm's banking practice, which has been helping financial institutions dispose of distressed real estate.

Although no one knows exactly when a recovery will occur, Coleman says Florida will be a beneficiary when it does. “We want to be well-positioned when that happens,” he says. “We want to grow in Florida rather than expand into Georgia and Louisiana.”

Already, there are signs the real estate market is improving in certain areas. “Our real estate group in Tampa is very busy,” Coleman says. Before joining Fowler White, Atkinson says he was worried about turning deals away.

If Coleman's timeline is right, Fowler White still has time to find the right attorneys in places such as Orlando, where it has no presence. “We've talked to a number of firms, but we haven't found the right fit,” he says.

In Miami, there's a unique problem: There's another firm with a similar name, Fowler White Burnett. Common founders are the only links between the two firms, but that's created confusion over the years.

Acquiring or merging existing firms into Fowler White is preferable to building an office from scratch because of the time it takes to build relationships with clients. “We do have a strategic plan and we task our lawyers with helping us identify the people we want to be partners with,” says Law, a fifth-generation Floridian. “We are going to get bigger.”

Reputable firms such as Atkinson Diner want assurance that they're joining a winner, too. “You start with the quality of law that they turn out and it's superb,” says Atkinson, who toured every Fowler White office. “Are there any misfits that stand out?” he wondered. “They don't keep them.”

Existing offices will grow as well. For example, Coleman plans to double the number of attorneys who practice in Fort Myers to about 25. While real estate continues to be slow in this area, there are opportunities to expand the firm's estate planning, immigration and corporate work. “We think the demand is there,” he says.