No. of offices 13 Date founded 1925 Founded 1925 | No. of attorneys Approximately 170 Founder John Kenneth Williamson Number of offices 13 | |
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Major practice areas Appellate
Banking and Financial Services
Construction
Business Litigation
Corporate
Creditor's rights and Bankruptcy
Emerging Companies
Eminent Domain and Property Rights
Environmental and Land Use
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Government Affairs Law and Lobbying
Health Care
Hospitality and Leisure
Immigration
Insurance
Intellectual Property Litigation
International
Labor and Employment
Private Wealth Services
Probate, Trust, and Guardianship Litigation
Real Estate
Securities and Corporate Governance
Tax
Technology
White-Collar Criminal Defense Key people H. William 'Bill' Perry, Managing Shareholder
Stephen McDermott, Chief Operating Officer
George Lemieux, Board of Directors
David Bates, Board of Directors
Elaine Bucher, Board of Directors
Clint Losego, Board of Directors
David Wells, Board of Directors
Donald J. Beuttenmuller, General Counsel Headquarters West Palm Beach, Florida, United States | ||
Gunster is a law firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was established in 1925 and has offices in The Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach, Stuart, Florida, Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando and Vero Beach. The firm's areas of specialty include litigation, real estate, corporate and private wealth services. Gunster is headed by managing shareholder Bill Perry and its headquarters are on the 4th, 5th and 6th floors of Phillips Point in West Palm Beach.
Domain attorney Amy Brigham Boulris and Michael Robert Cavendish are with the firm. Marshall Criser was part of the firm for 30 years, including when it was Gunster, Yoakley, Criser & Stewart. George LeMieux was Chairman of the firm when it was Gunster Yoakley & Stewart. Other attorneys at the firm include Angel A. Cortiñas, a former judge on the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Miami. Simon Ferro, former U.S. ambassador to Panama, and Steve Muscatello, who worked at the Heritage Foundation before law school. John Cole and Jorge D. Guttman also an attorneys at the firm.
As of 2012, Gunster was one of the largest firms in Florida and one of the largest 250 firms in the U.S. Florida Trend ranked Gunster 9th in Florida according to the number of attorneys.
History
Gunster began in 1925 as a solo practice of John Kenneth Williamson in West Palm Beach. By 1970, the firm had 10 attorneys. In 1989, the firm became Gunster Yoakley and had 55 employees. By 2006, it had 130 attorneys and six offices. As of 2013, the firm had 175 attorneys and 11 offices.
The firm expanded to Tampa in 2012. In 2013, the firm expanded to Orlando. The practice there is focused on legal issues including governmental law.