Am Law 100 firm Fox Rothschild has hired a trio of transactions lawyers to open its third office in Florida, in Sarasota.

The office will be led by partner Robert Stroud, who will also chair the firm’s healthcare transactions practice group within the corporate department. He has moved over from Florida firm Blalock Walters alongside counsel Yazen Dides and associate Mark Clare.

“Robert and his team are sophisticated dealmakers with great depth of knowledge in the healthcare space,” said Dianna El Hioum, Fox’s chief growth strategist.  

“They’ve played a major role in some of the industry’s most innovative transactions and have handled deals including mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures and investments. We’re thrilled to be extending our national presence in the area of healthcare transactions with the addition of Robert, Yazen and Mark to our health law team.”

Stroud has joined the firm after nearly 20 years at Blalock Walters, where he became a principal in 2009. He is board certified by the Florida Bar as an expert in health law and represents clients including large medical practices, publicly traded companies and private equity sponsors on transactions. He will join the executive committee at Fox Rothschild.

Meantime, Dides joined Blalock in 2021 from Deloitte, where he was a senior associate. His corporate and health law practice includes advising clients on entity formation, business governance and healthcare regulatory compliance. He focuses on drafting and negotiating transactions, facilitating buy/sell business deals, assets or divisions and joint ventures and representing healthcare entities on regulatory, licensure and related corporate matters.

Following the launch, Fox Rothschild will have 50 lawyers across Florida, where it opened in West Palm Beach back in 2005 and in Miami in 2013, amid a wider network of 30 US offices. It is the 12th largest Am Law 100 firm in Florida by headcount, accoring to data supplied by Pirical (see table).

The firm expanded into Boston two years ago when it hired a team of three IP lawyers from Mintz Levin to open an office there and has since grown its Boston team to 10 lawyers.  

Prominent US law firms have been flocking to Florida in the past few years, with Miami’s hot legal market proving a particular draw. Cooley said last November that it was relocating five lawyers to launch an office in the city to serve Florida and LatAm clients, a move that saw it join the likes of Sidley Austin, Kirkland & Ellis, Winston & Strawn, King & Spalding and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in setting up in Miami.  

UK firm Osborne Clarke also opened an office there last September to boost its US arbitration and tech law strategy.   

Am Law 100 law firms in Florida by attorney headcount

Source: Pirical