Duane Morris has added former Shutts & Bowen international trial lawyers Harold “Ed” Patricoff Jr. and Jake Baccari, who have joined the Am Law 100 firm’s Miami office as partners, the firm announced Wednesday.
In an interview, Miami managing partner Harvey Gurland said Duane Morris is seeing rising demand for its trial practice in the U.S. and internationally. Adding the duo’s international practice to the 35-lawyer Miami office, Gurland said, will serve as a stepping stone to clients in South America, Europe, and Asia.
Gurland is among a handful of Miami practice leaders who project rising demand from South American clients in 2022 as pandemic-stricken countries continue their economic recovery.
“Now, it looks like the business is coming to a more stable pattern, and by stable I mean it’s increasing as it was in 2019,” Gurland said. “I’m expecting 2022 to be even better in terms of business opportunities in South America as well as Europe.”
The pair are bringing clients in the banking and construction industries, Gurland said, and may be introduced to Duane Morris’s existing energy sector clients.
Patricoff, who launched his legal career at Shutts & Bowen in 1985 and founded the firm’s international dispute resolution group, brings decades of international dispute resolution experience, having represented domestic and international clients in matters involving cyber theft, cyber banking, technology, and more.
He also arrives with business connections, including his membership on Miami’s Technology Counsel, an 11-member group appointed by Mayor Francis Suarez and city commissioners that aims to bring international tech companies to Miami.
Jake Baccari joined Shutts & Bowen in May 2021 after almost two years at Tenzer Arrieta, a Brickell litigation and transactional boutique. His practice focuses on litigation, regulatory matters, and multi-jurisdiction dispute resolution—particularly in Asia—according to a firm press release.
The Philadelphia-based firm strengthens its trial practice group and international bench as local and national law firms project increased demand from clients in Latin America.
Rising inbound investment and immigration from Latin America has generated work for Miami law firms over the past year. For 2022, economic instability in countries such as Chile and Peru is likely to cause even more inbound investment, according to cross-border practice leaders, while economic recovery from the pandemic in other countries may present outbound investment opportunities as well.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Business Review, © ALM Media Properties LLC. All rights reserved.
