Three homegrown Florida law firms are among dozens of Am Law 200 firms and scores of others taking paycheck protection loans from the Small Business Administration, according to recipient data released by the agency.

Applicants seeking more than $150,000 range from some of the largest Am Law 200 firms, such as Boies Schiller Flexner, which is already in the news for a series of partner exits this year, to many prominent midsize firms and plaintiffs firms.

Cole, Scott & Kissane, Florida's largest firm by attorneys, and GrayRobinson, which prides itself on its government relations work, received $5 million to $10 million each, according to data released Monday showing aid ranges. Shutts & Bowen was in the $2 million to $5 million range.

GrayRobinson president and CEO Dean Cannon, a former state House speaker who chairs the firm's government affairs practice, said the firm's lobby practice was not involved in its application.

"We applied for the loan to do just what it was intended to do, which was help protect jobs and avoid needing to make layoffs in the wake of the economic uncertainty created by COVID-19," he said by email Tuesday. "The funds have made a positive difference and have helped enable us to avoid laying off a single employee."

Cannon said the funds were used for payroll and other eligible expenses. He added, "We applied using the same process everybody did and were funded in the second round."

Cole Scott managing partner Richard Cole said the firm does not comment on its finances. Shutts had no immediate comment on its loan.

In March, Congress earmarked $350 billion to dole out as business loans during the coronavirus pandemic and the economic turmoil that followed. While restaurants, health care companies and auto dealerships were some of the top recipients of big loans, law firms and lawyers were also eager to apply.

Among the PPP loan recipients, Law.com found at least 45 Am Law 200 firms — more than a fifth of the nation's 200 highest-grossing law firms.

The following Am Law 200 firms, which all posted gross revenue of more than $100 million in 2019, received $5 million to $10 million each:

• Boies Schiller Flexner
• Thompson & Knight
• Wiley Rein
• Schiff Hardin
• Armstrong Teasdale
• Hughes Hubbard & Reed
• Kasowitz Benson Torres
• Robins Kaplan
• Spencer Fane
• Pryor Cashman
• Cole, Scott & Kissane
• Stroock & Stroock & Lavan
• Kobre & Kim
• GrayRobinson
• Kelley Drye & Warren
• Bond, Schoeneck & King
• Hodgson Russ
• Honigman
• Sherman & Howard
• Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie
• Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis
• Knobbe Martens
• Day Pitney
• Robinson & Cole
• Morris, Manning, & Martin
• Ice Miller
• Adams and Reese
• Phelps Dunbar
• Miles & Stockbridge
• Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone
• Butler Snow
• Cole Schotz
• Gibbons
• McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter
• Benesch
• Porter Wright Morris & Arthur
• Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick
• Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch
• Rutan & Tucker
• Smith, Gambrell & Russell
• Hinckley, Allen & Snyder

Meanwhile, Am Law 200 firms that received $2 million to $5 million also include Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle; Arnall Golden Gregory; Hinckley, Allen & Snyder; and Sullivan & Worcester.

For some of the recipients, the PPP loans were key to avoiding mass layoffs and furloughs that have rippled through the industry.

Thompson & Knight said it applied for the loan because its "primary goal during these uncertain times is to protect our people, continue to provide outstanding service to our clients, and to give back to the communities we serve."

A Kasowitz spokeswoman said its loan, in addition to "substantial cost-saving measures and greatly reduced partner distributions," allowed the firm to retain hundreds of employees at full salary and benefits "without interruption."

And while dozens of Am Law 200 firms received loans, most recipients in the legal field are small and midsize firms generating less than $100 million annually.

For instance, Wigdor, which represents Vanina Guerrero in a sexual assault lawsuit against DLA Piper partner Louis Lehot and filed a flurry of lawsuits against Fox News, received an April loan of $350,000 to $1 million.

High-end California intellectual property boutique Keker, Van Nest & Peters received $2 million to $5 million.

Kent Zimmermann, a law firm management consultant at Zeughauser Group, said receiving a PPP loan doesn't necessarily mean a firm is in financial trouble. Almost every firm he has spoken to during the pandemic at one time considered a PPP loan, but most of the larger Am Law 100 firms didn't qualify.

"Some firms faced existential threats going into this downturn and a small group still face existential threats," Zimmermann said. "And I personally don't think that it's necessarily fair to shame organizations that complied with the law."

Honigman has already repaid its loan.

"Honigman had determined to pay back the PPP loan prior to the expiration back in May, prior to the expiration of the safe harbor period," said Kevin Kiefer, the firm's director of business development.

Going forward, many firms, after facing down the initial turmoil and uncertainty in March, have been pleasantly surprised by a steady level of productivity, Zimmermann added. And some firm partners are already clamoring to receive their full draws, he said.

But when taking into account rising cases in several states and subsequent rollbacks of business reopenings in states like Florida and Texas, he said a second economic wave may threaten law firms in the near future.

"It ain't over yet," Zimmermann said.

Ryan Barber and Ben Hancock contributed to this report.