(Left to Right) Elio Martinez and Jorge Espinosa

GrayRobinson has absorbed Miami-based IP firm Espinosa Martinez as part of a strategy to bolster its international capabilities.

The IP firm's founding partner Jorge Espinosa and partners Elio Martinez and Francesca Russo have joined GrayRobinson's Miami office as partners. Pablo Meles and Robert Jimenez will join as of counsel and associate, respectively. The additions bring the total head count of the Miami office to 43, and the firm's total IP practice to 34.

GrayRobinson CEO and President Dean Cannon said the team will help the firm better serve clients both domestically and internationally, as the in-bound and out-bound market in Florida continues to heat up.

"Espinosa Martinez has a global IP approach, and Miami is a hemispheric capitol," Cannon said. "Florida is uniquely poised for momentous growth and its size, diversity and location all make Florida an increasingly critical entry point to the global economy."

Espinosa Martinez was founded by Epinosa in 2008 after he left what was then Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin. At the time, Espinosa felt that the boutique model was ideal for IP practices. Recently, though, the firm had been flirting with the idea of merging with a bigger platform.

"Like with every business, you look at the point where you want to go from there," Espinosa said. "And unfortunately a small firm has its limitations in serving larger clients and the broad needs of existing clients."

While the firm does international work in such countries as Cuba and Myanmar, the attorneys felt like it needed the backing of a larger firm to net larger clients. After speaking to a few firms, Espinosa and his colleagues decided on GrayRobinson. A big draw, said Espinosa, was GrayRobinson's willingness to allow the group to retain its close-knit firm culture and smaller clients—a policy GrayRobinson CEO Cannon refers to as "libertarian professionalism."

Another plus was Cannon's understanding of the international nature of Florida's legal market, he added. "His recognition of the international market in South Florida was key," Espinosa said.

Espinosa Martinez handles IP matters from "start to finish," from registration to litigation. The firm is currently litigating cases in the Northern District of Texas as well as in the Northern and Southern Districts of Florida, he said.

Last year, GrayRobinson posted flat revenues and a declining head count, although the firm posted a 7.2% increase in profits per equity partner. A long-time lobbyist and former speaker for the Florida House of Representatives, Cannon took over from his predecessor Mayanne Downs in September.

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