Noted attorney joins new firm, named shareholder

SARASOTA — Prominent area securities law attorney Drew Clayton, after running his own firm for 20 years, has joined Icard Merrill, one of the largest law firms in the region.

Clayton's colleague at The Clayton Law Firm, Worth Graham, also joined Icard Merrill, according to a statement. Together they will launch new practice areas at the firm in business disputes and securities arbitration, the release adds. Clayton founded his own firm in 1996 in Sarasota.

Clayton joins Icard Merrill as a shareholder. He worked in the securities industry in New York and also served 14 years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corp. Clayton has handled hundreds of securities disputes involving millions of dollars, according to a bio on his old firm's website. His work includes a federal court case in which the Sarasota County Clerk of Court retained Clayton to recover more than $40 million in losses from a mismanaged securities lending program by a major bank.

Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen & Ginsburg P.A. was founded in 1953 in Sarasota. The firm has since grown to include offices in Bradenton, Port Charlotte and Fort Myers. The firm's legal services include business, commercial and construction litigation, employment law, personal injury law, real estate law, land use law and probate, tax and estate planning services.