Top 100 US firm Venable is absorbing Miami-based practice Genovese Joblove & Battista (GJB) in order to launch in Florida.

The deal will see Venable take on more than 30 GJB lawyers, including six shareholders and more than a dozen partners who are spread across offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. The firm’s practice covers areas such as bankruptcy and insolvency, commercial and securities litigation, business transactions and real estate, among others. The integration will be effective from the start of next year.

Stu Ingis, chairman of Venable, said: “GJB has become a strong and successful firm over the last two decades. The firm’s practices are complementary to Venable’s and their values and culture make this a great match. We look forward to entering the Florida market with such a strong team and working with them to grow together in the Florida market and nationwide.”

The GJB team includes shareholders Michael Joblove, Paul Battista, John Genovese, Alison Day, Glenn Moses and Jonathan Perlman, all six of whom are based in Miami. Partners include Miami-based commercial litigation and business disputes lawyer Peter Bellas, trademarks and general commercial litigation lawyer Nina Greene and bankruptcy specialist Heather Harmon.

Michael Joblove, GJB founding shareholder, said: “We are proud of what we have accomplished as a firm since coming together in 1999. Joining Venable at this point in our firm’s history provides the perfect opportunity to take things to the next level for our clients, our attorneys and our staff.”

With revenue of $717m in 2021, Venable sits at 67 in the Am Law 100 when measured by gross revenue. The Washington DC-headquartered firm has a presence in nine cities across the US, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

It is just one of a number of US firms that have been expanding their presence in Miami, which has been dubbed by some as ‘Wall Street South’. In May, both Kirkland & Ellis and Winston & Strawn opened up shop in Miami, with Kirkland relocating a team of senior Chicago and New York lawyers and Winston hiring a team of six from rivals including Greenberg Traurig, Jones Day and Hogan Lovells.

At the time, Winston chairman Tom Fitzgerald said Miami hasd attracted significant pools of public and private capital and is a dynamic financial hub that serves as a gateway for banking and international trade with Latin America.

King & Spalding also opened in Miami back in January, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan opened in Miami in May last year.

Firms have also been making lateral hires to expand their Miami offices. In September, Holland & Knight hired international tax lawyer Eduardo Arista to bolster its Latin America private client practice, adding to the arrival of Miami tax partner Logan Gans in July.