MIAMI — Akerman LLP reported record-high revenue for 2016 while adding more lawyers to its growing firm.
According to a report by Daily Business Review, the firm had nearly $349 million in revenue last year, making it the sixth consecutive year of gross-revenue gains for the Miami-based law firm. Akerman also increased its head count to more than 650 lawyers and business professionals, which includes 337 partners in 24 offices across the country.
“Our success continues to be defined by two key ingredients: We have nearly a century of stability as a law firm, and we have a real agility that has propelled our firm into one of the most innovative law firms in the United States,” Andrew Smulian, chairman and CEO of Akerman, told the Florida Record.
While Akerman’s 97-year history is predominantly rooted in Florida, the firm began expanding to other states about 15 years ago. The firm now has operations in across the country including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. The firm expanded its southern presence in 2016 by opening new offices in New Orleans; Austin, Texas; San Antonio; and Houston.
Smulian said the expansion into new states was in response to clients’ needs, but noted Florida’s operations continue to thrive.
“Florida continues to be a vital and dynamic market for Akerman and our clients,” he said. “With more than 400 lawyers in the state, our work for global and regional companies doing business in Florida continues to be a key part of our success.”
Akerman is positioned to continue growth, even with a transition to a new CEO set for early 2018. Smulian, 70, who has been CEO since 2008, will hand over operations to David Spector, a Miami national fraud-recovery practice partner who has been with the firm since 2009.
“We continue to see strong client demand in our core areas of strength, which mirror the local economics where we operate in Florida and nationally,” Smulian said. “This includes our work for private equity firms and large companies in middle-market M&A transactions. We are also very active in both the real-estate and financial-services sectors, addressing a range of regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters.”