Shortening Law Firm Names -- the Good, the Bad, the Ugly (aka GBU LLP)

I love this consultant-driven trend to shorten law firm names -- you now have venerable institutions with long distinguished histories shortened down to within an inch of their professional lives -- Akerman, Ruden, Gunster etc.

Indeed, if you add an exclamation point you'd have a nice title for a Broadway play -- Akerman! starring Nathan Lane, previews start March 1......and coming this fall Ruden! with Christine Ebersole, tickets available September 1st....

I see the latest to join the name-shortening trend is Fort Lauderdale's Brinkley, Morgan, Solomon, Tatum, Stanley, Lunny & Gordon LLP, now reduced simply to Brinkley Morgan.

Partner Roberta Stanley explains the thinking behind the change:

Stanley joined the Fort Lauderdale law firm 1996, back when at least a half-dozen partner names were stenciled on the door.

But over time as old partners leave and new ones join letterhead, business cards and logo designs have to be redone to reflect the changes. The cycle is never-ending and once again the firm has to reintroduce itself to the community.

So Stanley sought the advice of consultants and feedback from her co-workers. Simplifying, going back to basics was the consensus. The firm name now honors its founder: W. Michael Brinkley, who passed away this past November; and its managing partner, Philip Morgan, who joined the firm when it opened in 1975.

"It's what's in the best interest of everyone," said Stanley. "It's the future, to be recognized with a strong contemporary name." A streamlined website and logo accompanies the streamlined name.

The process became an opportunity for the firm to create a marketing campaign built around the rebranding, says Stanley. The new look and new name is more inviting and memorable, she says. That's important in attracting new talent as well as being transparent for clients.

Revamping the website allowed the firm to refresh attorney bios, ease navigation, and provide information.

Ok, I actually think this is an improvement, but why stop there?

What about "BM" -- it's short, catchy and people immediately know what you're talking about.

(On second thought, Brinkley Morgan is probably a safer choice).

I Already Hate 2011.

Six Million Dollar Man Intro
Uploaded by pezhammer. - Watch more comedy videos and sitcoms.

Hi kids, welcome back to the real world!

Let's see what happened while you were snuggled inside your holiday dream.....

Whoa -- George "Pe Pe" LeMieux is returning to what's left of Gunster, where gave a rousing speech about rebuilding the venerable Florida firm:

"Gunster, a firm barely alive.

Gentlemen, we can rebuild Gunster. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic law firm. Gunster will be that firm. Better than it was before. Better...stronger...faster."

We wish you luck, Oscar Goldman Senator LeMieux.

Gunster -- Like a Rock!

That's according to Mershon Sawyer (I kid!) Gunster managing partner Bill Perry, in a nice interview with the PBP.

I agree with Bill about this:

What you tell young people about your business:

"One: You work very hard. Nobody is a success as a lawyer unless they're willing to work hard. Whatever your chosen area is, become recognized as an expert in that area. Get out in your community.

"Go out - and not in your lawyer costume."

BTW, Bill's a Gunster lifer who started there fresh out of law school in 1986.

We wish him much success.

Gunster Yoakley Gets Some Good Press.

Did you all catch the story Sunday in the Herald regarding George LeMieux's law firm, Gunster Yoakley, and their recent dealings:

The law firm, chaired by LeMieux, helped foreign workers get visas last fall to help build a hotel and condos in Miami, depriving dozens of Floridians jobs at a time of rising unemployment. CBS4 News in Miami first reported the law firm's efforts, which included persuading the U.S. State Department that the Mexican workers had special skills that Americans didn't. In a statement, the firm said Le-Mieux had no involvement in immigration matters.

• While serving as Crist's chief of staff in 2007, LeMieux secretly helped negotiate a lucrative gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court as unconstitutional and has triggered a debate over the expansion of gambling in Florida. LeMieux recently helped negotiate a second compact that the Legislature will consider this fall. He has said the compact will contribute more money to Florida schools and will limit future expansion of gambling.

• Two weeks before Le-Mieux left Crist's office, Gunster Yoakley & Stewart landed a $500,000 contract representing the state Department of Transportation on two matters. DOT general counsel Alexis Yarbrough, who signed the contract on Dec. 20, 2007, is the wife of Shane Strum, a deputy chief of staff who reported to LeMieux when LeMieux worked for Crist. LeMieux said he played no role in his firm's hiring; DOT has said the firm has special expertise in arcane railroad law. The firm did work for DOT before LeMieux returned there.

• After leaving Crist's office in December 2007, LeMieux earned about $150,000 over a 13-month period as an adviser to state Republican Party chairman Jim Greer, a sideline that has led some to label LeMieux a ``political consultant.'' He will not discuss what he did to earn that money, which was paid from the party's federal account to his firm, MTC Strategies (named after his sons Max, Taylor, and Chase).

• For the past 15 years, West Palm Beach-based Gunster Yoakley has represented U.S. Sugar Corp., which for months negotiated with Crist's office to sell much of its land to the state and federal government to clean up polluted runoff in the Everglades. LeMieux said he avoided any involvement in the U.S. Sugar deal while working for Crist or afterward. The state's chief negotiator was Eric Eikenberg, a LeMieux protégé who succeeded him as chief of staff.

My initial reaction -- wow, I didn't know Gunster was that busy.

This is probably the best press that firm has had in years.

To be serious for a moment, I don't think it's fair to pin the entire firm's book of business on LeMieux.

On the other hand, he is chair of the firm and is their main Tally presence, hence is the go-to guy for clients who want to pull strings up there and need someone with access and the ability to game the system so they can obtain desired responses from state government.

You can't really have it both ways -- either you have no power as Crist's former chief of staff, or you are touted as having special connections and access that will be used to help secure benefits for your clients.

Again, there's nothing illegal about the latter. But let's not pretend LeMieux is something that he is not -- he has been and will continue to serve his clients by manipulating the strings of government on their behalf.

That is clearly a perfectly legitimate form of "lawyering" that has been personally lucrative and professionally successful for Mr. Lemieux.

Whether that makes him a public servant or not is a different question.

BREAKING -- Pepe Le Pew Named New US Senator!

So I see everybody is buzzing about that French love-sick skunk being named the new US Senator from Florida.....

Huh? You mean it's not...?

Oops -- apparently the new US Senator is in fact Gunster chairman and former Crist chief of staff George LeMieux.

You can read more about George in his self-styled The Lemieux Report.

Roberto the trial lawyer and I apologize for any confusion.

Gunster Yoakley "Unhappy" Over Being Sued Again; Needs Some Alone Time.

Come on, Gunster, don't be down -- turn that smile into a frown, you big galute:

More than two dozen buyers trying to recover deposits on the failed Palladio Terrace condo have filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against the Gunster Yoakley law firm, claiming the firm failed to properly guard their cash when it served as the condo's escrow agent.

Merco Group of the Palm Beaches, Palladio Terrace's developer, abandoned plans to build the West Palm Beach luxury condo two years ago, but it has not returned all $10 million in deposits it obtained from would-be buyers. These and other buyers have lobbed lawsuits against Merco, seeking the return of their money. Some judgments have been reached but not paid by Miami-based Merco.

Now, 26 would-be Palladio Terrace buyers are pointing the finger at Gunster Yoakley, saying the firm was negligent in releasing their money to Merco in the first place.

"Knowing you have one of the largest, most important law firms in the county protecting your money - only to find out that they didn't - is outrageous," said Steve Katzman, a Boca Raton lawyer representing the group. "If a project fails, the only thing standing between you and the loss of your money is the escrow agent."

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, shines an unfavorable light on a venerable law firm. The suit also adds to the drama surrounding Palladio Terrace, a high-rise planned along the Intracoastal Waterway. At the height of the real estate boom, Palladio Terrace netted $100 million in pre-sales on 338 units priced as high as $3 million. The project died when the market began softening. The lender, Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union, recently took back the property in a $30 million foreclosure.

A Gunster Yoakley attorney says the law firm refuses to shoulder any blame for the unrefunded deposits.

"Gunster is really unhappy about being sued," said Scott Link, the firm's West Palm Beach attorney. "Gunster doesn't think it did anything wrong. In acting as the escrow agent, they fulfilled their obligation."

Link said the only reason Gunster is being sued now is "they're the last person standing with money."

A few things -- first of all, the suit sounds like a stretch. I'd want to see the complaint before I comment further on the theory, as I'm not entirely clear on the duties of an escrow agent in this context.

Note to Steve Katzman: reserve the term "outrageous" for something really really bad. This is sad, unfortunate, regrettable, and probably sucks arse, but I don't know if Gunster's conduct here is truly "outrageous."

Note to Scott Link -- don't talk about a law firm in terms of its feelings. Firms are not "happy" or "sad"; indeed, they are not anthropomorphic entities.

There, my blog is happy now.