The Legal 500

Within M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m), tier 4

Carlton Fields is one of Florida’s largest full-service law firms. The M&A practice’s experience includes advising in the $80m acquisition by a manufacturer of aircraft simulators and operator of simulation training centers for the military, acting as corporate counsel in the $117m sale of an NHL hockey team franchise and sports entertainment arena, and advising in connection with a temporary staffing company’s merger. The team also assisted with the $80m sale of a tobacco and candy wholesaler, and acted in connection with the $85m sale of hospitals in Brooksville. Miami shareholder Dennis Olle leads the corporate, securities and tax practice group. Atlanta shareholder James Andros acts for numerous domestic and foreign companies in various industries such as business services, technology, life sciences, transportation, manufacturing, real estate, telecommunications, and energy. In Tampa, Richard Denmon is also a key contact.

Within Construction (including construction litigation), Carlton Fields is a third tier firm,

Clients speak very highly of Carlton Fields, for both non-contentious matters and litigation. From offices in Florida and Georgia, the firm represents owners, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, homebuilders, condominium associations and sureties in relation to all types of developments. Luis Prats heads the construction litigation practice, and has extensive expertise in complex commercial disputes. He is also a key driver in a niche Chinese drywall practice, which is devoted to representing clients facing warranty claims and lawsuits arising from the use of imported drywall, and draws on the firm’s experience in environmental regulation, toxic torts, legislative and regulatory compliance, product liability, indemnity and class action representation. For transactional work, key contact George Meyer is well respected by rival firms and highly regarded by clients, with a practice including advising on design and construction contracts, condominium law, Florida construction lien law, and construction contract administration. The transactional team has worked on high-profile projects nationwide including Los Angeles International Airport, UCLA Medical Center and the Orlando Marriott and Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes resort. Recent work includes advising the construction manager in relation to the $500m Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, which is intended to serve as a new home for the National Basketball Association’s New Jersey Nets; the firm assisted the client on negotiating the design-build contract with the project developer in 2009, and has since worked with the construction manager in handling various contract administration matters.

Within Land use/zoning , Carlton Fields is a second tier firm,

Carlton Fields is firmly entrenched in the Florida market with six offices across the state and an additional office in Georgia. The core of the land use team is based in the Tallahassee office, although the firm also has a strong presence in Tampa. Chair of the group Nancy Linnan is very well regarded by peers and admired by clients for ‘combining technical knowledge with personal relationship skills when representing clients in front of the regulatory community’. The group is strong in transactional matters and is also experienced in land use litigation. It recently won a six-year-long case for a developer seeking approval of a mixed-use infill project for apartments and commercial use in Leon County.