William Schifino Jr., Tampa managing partner of Gunster. Courtesy photo

Gunster bolstered its Tampa office with the addition of nine Burr & Forman attorneys, including former Florida Bar president William J. Schifino Jr., and another attorney in town.

Schifino takes on the title of office managing shareholder, plans to build up from 19 attorneys and already has had some conversations with prospective recruits.

“My goal is to get through this transition and hopefully have some good things happen” early next year, he said.

The move across the street by the Burr & Forman team has squeezed the Gunster office to its limits in downtown Tampa, and Schifino joked that he's already asked a neighbor about moving out.

Schifino said he and Gunster managing shareholder Bill Perry had talks off and on for four or five months about a team move.

“Certainly I was in no hurry, nor was Bill. There was no timeline,” Schifino said. “Things certainly progressed and heated up over the last month.”

In part, the change in firms was a function of geography.

“All of my relationships are in the state of Florida, all of my clients are in the state of Florida, their business is based here,” Schifino said. “It became clear to me that it was important for my clients and me to have a Florida-focused firm.” 

Gunster fits that definition with 13 Florida offices.

Schifino opened Burr & Forman's Tampa office in 2012 in a merger with his former firm, Williams Schifino Mangione & Steady, to launch with about 25 attorneys. Sixteen attorneys remain in Tampa with Burr & Forman after the move.

Other new Gunster shareholders are Schifino's younger brother John A. Schifino, president of the Hillsborough County Bar Association; Scott Brown; Daniel P. Dietrich; and Iden Sinai. Justin P. Bennett, Madison E.M. Gardiner and Giovanni Giarratana joined as associates and William J. Schifino Sr. as of counsel. He spent much of his 40-year legal career running his own firm in Tampa.

Brown, Sinai and Gardiner are real estate attorneys, and the rest are business litigators.

In addition, tax, estates and trusts Brian Sparks joined from Tampa-based Hill Ward Henderson. 

“Tampa is experiencing tremendous growth and expansion. Bill, John and Scott have strong roots and a history of leadership in Tampa and the greater community,” Perry said in a statement. “As a Florida-focused firm, we are bullish on our state. The addition of these attorneys brings increased connectivity and access for our firm and our clients to take advantage of these plentiful opportunities.”

William Schifino Jr. served as bar president in 2016-17 and on the state Constitution Revision Commission. He sits with Perry on the board of the University of Florida law school, and both were at UF at the same time.

Before the move when Gunster's Tampa office had 10 attorneys, its administration was the responsibility of regional managing shareholder Lila Jaber, who also supervised the Tallahassee and Orlando offices.

The firm founded in 1925 ranks 10th on the Daily Business Review's Review 100 list of the state's largest firms by attorney head count with 188 in 2017.

Burr & Forman Tampa managing partner Harvey Kauget said Schifino wanted a Florida-only firm, “so I guess that's a better fit for his practice area.”

Asked if the firm plans to expand in Tampa, Kauget said, “We're always trying to grow our presence. We're a Southeast regional firm, and we're trying to always grow the firm and bring the best to Tampa as well.”

The firm's website lists 21 Tampa attorneys after the departures. The 300-attorney firm led by CEO Ed Christian in Birmingham, Alabama, has other Florida offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and additional locations across the Southeast.