Javier Fernandez, who is running for a vacant seat in the Florida House of Representatives, has taken a job at Berger Singerman—one month after he left Holland & Knight to run for office.

Fernandez, who last month declared his run for the District 114 seat vacated by Daisy Baez, had said he left Holland & Knight after less than a year because the firm's policy is that lawyers who choose to run for office must resign.

Fernandez said he could have worked independently and collaborated with Holland & Knight colleagues, but he decided to head to Berger Singerman, where a friend and former coworker—Litigation Associate Alejandro Miyar—invited him shortly after he announced his candidacy. The two had worked together in 2003 for then-Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.

The Florida attorney, who practices in the areas of land use and zoning, real estate, and state and local government advocacy, said he choose Berger Singerman because of the competency of its lawyers, its entrepreneurial attitude and its civic engagement.

“Striking a balance between work and the campaign is important when you are running for public office,” Fernandez said. He saw Berger Singerman as willing to take a risk with him.

Berger Singerman co-chair Paul Singerman said the firm has had multiple attorneys run and hold office before, including the mayors of Bal Harbour and Key Biscayne and the current president of the Florida Bar.

“In each instance, our partners who held those respective offices continued to do a great job for clients, and their public sector experience enhanced their service to clients and enhanced the breadth and depth of their contacts,” Singerman said. “Any lateral recruitment is a risk for both the lateral recruit and the firm. We don't think that the risk is exacerbated by Javier's interest in pursuing public service.”

Singerman said Fernandez's legal skills will complement the deep bench of real estate and land use lawyers already at the firm.

Fernandez joined Holland & Knight's government advocacy and development group in January. Before Holland & Knight, he was a shareholder with Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson.

The house seat Fernandez is pursuing became available when Baez resigned days before pleading guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge for lying about her address on a voter-registration form.

A special primary election for the District 114 seat will take place May 1 after the special primary election Feb. 20. The candidate filing deadline is Dec. 28. Fernandez said it is the only seat that stands between a Republican supermajority in the house.

Fernandez, whose former Holland & Knight website bio described his practice in land use and zoning law, real estate, government contract procurement and government advocacy and development, said he doesn't believe his practice will conflict with his work in the Florida House.

“I've never sought local office because the work I do is very local,” Fernandez said. “This is a good opportunity to serve and hopefully avoid those types of conflicts.”