Gunster, Florida’s law firm for business, announces it has completed a merger agreement with Grant Fridkin Pearson, a Naples law firm with 27 years of practice in southwest Florida. The merger will be effective January 1, 2023, at which time the 12 attorneys and 15-member professional staff of Grant Fridkin Pearson will join Gunster, one of the state’s largest commercial law firms. Naples is an expansion for Gunster, which will now have a foothold in every major market across Florida, and with this additional growth, expands the firm’s statewide footprint to 12 cities across Florida.
Grant Fridkin Pearson is a comprehensive law firm comprised of highly-credentialed attorneys and professional staff who represent a broad range of individuals, businesses, entrepreneurs and institutions in their complex legal needs across Florida. The firm’s attorneys focus within four main areas of practice: transactional real estate; business services; litigation and dispute resolution; and estate planning and trust and estate administration services. Grant Fridkin Pearson’s practices complement Gunster’s existing business and litigation services, and its culture and clientele align closely with those of Gunster.
Gunster recently announced another expansion in the Tampa area when it merged with the Barnett firm in October, solidifying it as one of the largest firms in the Tampa Bay region. Gunster is a 97-year-old Florida law firm currently with 12 offices across the state and nearly 250 attorneys and government affairs consultants. The firm’s strategy is to be the best commercially-focused law firm in Florida. To achieve that goal, Gunster recruits and retains “best-in-class” lawyers and professional staff to its statewide platform with diverse service offerings. It has been ranked by Florida Trend magazine as one of the ‘Best Companies to Work For’ for six years in a row.
“The attorneys of Grant Fridkin Pearson are the consummate professionals, many of them achieving some of the highest recognitions available in the legal industry. Additionally, they share a strong commitment to their community, which is a pillar of Gunster’s culture. These attorneys serve in leadership roles within our profession, in civic organizations and the broader Naples community,” said Bill Perry, managing shareholder of Gunster. “As we continue to grow strategically, it’s important to align ourselves with attorneys who are committed to both to the legal profession and the local communities we serve. Both firms share a civic commitment to our state which ensures alignment not only from a client-service perspective, but from a cultural perspective, as well.”
Richard Grant, one of the founding members of Grant Fridkin Pearson, said “We determined that Gunster has a sound vision for embracing the future as Florida grows and the delivery of legal services evolves. By merging with Gunster, Grant Fridkin Pearson will be afforded the opportunity to broaden its ability to well serve our clients, for our attorneys and professional staff to grow professionally, and to provide the best service possible. Gunster shares our values: exceptional client service; commitment to our profession; and devotion to our Naples community and the southwest Florida region as a whole. We look forward to joining our teams together to better serve all of our constituents and to grow stronger together.”
The Grant Fridkin Pearson attorneys joining Gunster include litigators Jeffrey Fridkin, Michael Traficante and Keith Wickenden; trust and estate attorneys William Pearson, Marcie Charles, Travis Hayes and Ryan Beadle; and transactional attorneys Richard Grant, Alexandra Gabel, Cheryl Hastings, Charles Whittington and Christina Woods.
Gunster’s growth over the last two years has been explosive. The firm welcomed more than 40 new attorneys in 2021 and is on track to hire more than 40 additional attorneys in 2022, all while continuing to deepen its statewide capabilities while reinforcing a solid reputation as Florida’s law firm for business. Naples has long been an ideal location for the firm to have a presence, but finding the right firm was a strategic imperative. “It’s important to have an alignment of people, culture and approach to client service when making these significant decisions,” added Perry.
Financial details of the merger will not be disclosed.
Gunster, Florida’s law firm for business, provides full-service legal counsel to leading organizations and individuals from its 12 offices statewide. Established in 1925, the firm has expanded, diversified and evolved, but always with a singular focus: Florida and its clients’ stake in it. A magnet for business-savvy attorneys who embrace collaboration for the greatest advantage of clients, Gunster’s growth has not been at the expense of personalized service but because of it. The firm serves clients from its offices in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach, Stuart, Tallahassee, Tampa, Vero Beach, and its headquarters in West Palm Beach. With more than 240 attorneys and consultants, and over 240 committed support staff, Gunster is ranked among the National Law Journal’s list of the 500 largest law firms and has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Diverse Law Firms by Law360. More information about its practice areas, offices and insider’s view newsletters is available at www.gunster.com.
