(l-r) P.J. Rodriguez, Lisa D. Landy, Michael Marquez, William C. Lewis Jr., Mark Hasner, Paul M. Cummings, Andres E. Tejidor, Nicholas M. Daniels, Jonathan Feuerman, Beth M. Lazar and Andrew Cummings, with Therrel Baisden. Courtesy photo

Two tax, trust, estate and business law firms have merged to create a 12-attorney Miami firm.

Therrel Baisden, founded in 1925 and one of the oldest law firms in the state, keeps its name and Mark Hasner as managing partner as six Weiner & Cummings attorneys join. Weiner & Cummings has focused on representing high net worth families in South Florida since 1989.

The expanded Therrel Baisden provides corporate, estate and trust planning, tax and fiduciary services to a domestic and international client base.

Hasner, Nicholas Daniels, Jonathan Feuerman and Paul Cummings are the combined firm's equity partners.

The newcomers at Therrel Baisden are Cummings, partner and son Andrew Cummings, associate Michael Marquez and of counsel William C. Lewis Jr., Lawrence Weiner and Beth M. Lazar.

In a statement, Hasner promised the new firm would provide "the highest level of personal service at rates that are unachievable at large law firms, while maintaining the intellectual depth, skill and professional experience required by the complexity of our clients' needs."

The merger was strategic from a succession-planning perspective for both the attorneys and clients.

"We have some senior-level attorneys that have been practicing for 40 to 50 years, so they're kind of at the end of the careers," Hasner said in an interview. "We have mid-level counsel to create a succession plan for the families that the senior-level attorneys" have represented.

The firm is positioned to compete against large law firms by being able to offer a higher level of personal service at more reasonable rates.

"We get a lot of families that come over from large law firms," Hasner said. "Over time, you lose the personal service touch at a large law firm," which can bill at $600 to $900 an hour.

Merger talks began early this year, and the combination took effect Aug. 1, he said.

The firm is in newly renovated offices after expanding from 6,000 to 9,000 square feet at the SunTrust International Center in downtown Miami.

The firm concentrates on estate and trust planning; wealth preservation; income taxation; business structuring; estate, trust and guardianship administration; estate and trust litigation; income, gift and estate tax controversy with the IRS; and international tax planning.