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Brazil’s Taurus Intl.. Acquires Opa Locka Gun-Maker

By Paul Brinkmann, South Florida Business Journal

Gun manufacturer Taurus USA, a subsidiary of Brazil-based Taurus International, acquired Opa Locka-based Heritage Manufacturing.

A U.S. subsidiary of Brazil-based Taurus International has acquired local gun-maker Heritage Manufacturing, based in Opa Locka.

The acquisition was the latest example in a string of Brazilian investments in South Florida.

A spokeswoman for Taurus said the company did not envision any staff reduction at Heritage as a result of the acquisition. Taurus declined to say how much it paid for Heritage. Heritage Manufacturing was founded in 1992 by president Jay Bernkrant and his wife, Maria Diaz

Taurus said in a news release Tuesday that Heritage would continue operating independently and maintain its own brands, which include the Heritage Western Single Action Revolver, Rough Rider 22LR and 22 Magnum combo revolver.

Taurus opened its U.S. subsidiary in Miami in 1982. In 1994, the New York Times reported that Taurus has become the largest foreign supplier of guns to the U.S.

Tom Angelo of Fort Lauderdale law firm Angelo & Banta represented Taurus in the acquisition; Greenberg Traurig represented Heritage.

In 2009, Taurus USA president Bob Morrison told Miami Dade County that he was considering a move to another Florida location. But Taurus agreed to stay in Miami Gardens, add 123 new employees over three years and make a $7.8 million capital investment. The company’s 59,500-square-foot-facility near the Palmetto Expressway was to be renovated and expanded. If it met those goals, it was set to receive more than $300,000 in incentive money from the county and state.

Currently, Taurus is advertising a promotion on its website to receive a free one-year membership in the National Rifle Association with the purchase of a gun.

Mark Kresser, president and CEO of Taurus USA, said in a news release that Hertitage was “a perfect fit with our growth strategy to acquire and partner with companies that share our core competency of affordably priced firearms for all shooters.”

Taurus began as small tool manufacturer in Porto Alegre, Brazil 60 years ago. At one point, Bangor Punta, the same conglomerate that owned Smith & Wesson, owned Taurus. The current owners took a majority position in 1977. In 1980, Taurus purchased a large gun factory in Brazil from Beretta.

In the U.S. Taurus makes pistol models called PT-22, PT-25, PT-732 and PT-738 pistols.

pbrinkmann@bizjournals.com | (954) 949-7562

Developer Bob Moss, wife caught up in legal wrangle over loans

By Paul Brinkmann, South Florida Business Journal

Fort Lauderdale developer Bob Moss and his wife, Sandra Moss, are being called before a federal judge to explain why her name is on a $1.25 million promissory note that is the object of a seizure attempt.

Lenders are pursuing Bob Moss and his assets over personal guarantees he provided for loans on a resort project in the Bahamas that stalled in 2004. Moss is chairman and CEO of Fort Lauderdale-based construction company Moss & Associates, which is currently involved in building the new Florida Marlins ballpark.

Although Bob and Sandra Moss are both listed on a $1.25 million capital contribution to Moss & Associates, lawyers for a lender on the Bahamas development say documents indicate the money came from Bob Moss only.

“The execution of the note failed to create a vaild tenancy by the entirety as between Moss and Sandra,” a March 9 filing in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale states.

A spokeswoman for Moss family said they intend to vigorously defend against attempts to seize the note.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow has ordered that, if the Mosses don’t adequately explain why Sandra Moss’ name was listed, the note can be seized by the U.S. Marshals Service and sold at auction immediately to help satisfy a $24 million judgment.

Seven years ago, Moss and 40 local investors purchased a 1,000-acre island called Chub Cay. They developed a marina with more than 100 slips. But bigger plans stalled, leaving only the development’s pool and first 16 luxury homes.

One of the lenders on the resort was BA Chub Cay LLC, an affiliate of Blackacre Capital Management. The lender filed lawsuits demanding that Moss and his business partners repay their loans. A $24 million judgment was registered in New York and Florida against Moss, the late Kaye Pearson and attorney Walter McCrory.

Attempts to collect on the loan have been stymied partly because Moss, Pearson and McCrory had their wives’ names on most of their assets. Minutes of a 2008 Moss & Associates meeting indicate Bob and Sandra Moss own 60 percent of the Moss company jointly.

The lead attorney for the lender is Tom Angelo of Angelo & Banta, P.A. in Fort Lauderdale. The firm recently succeeded in “inter-pleading” Sandra Moss into the lawsuit to seek recovery of money from Bob Moss.

pbrinkmann@bizjournals.com | (954) 949-7562

The Museum of Discovery and Science holds its topping off celebration for the Ecodiscovery Center on April 12 2011

The Museum of Discovery and Science is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a major expansion – the new EcoDiscovery Center! The new wing will open visitors’ eyes to the global impact of climate change, the promise of alternative energy sources and the vital role of the Everglades in safeguarding Florida’s fragile water supply. In the new EcoDiscovery Center wing visitors will learn more about our planet through the lens of environmental awareness and stewardship. The expansion highlights include the following:

• Everglades Airboat Trip, a simulated ride through the Everglades with special effects
• Otters at Play, a spectacular 2-story indoor-outdoor habitat
• Powerful You Health Exhibit, in partnership with Broward Health
• The Storm Center, interpreting the impact of hurricanes and climate change
• Splish Splash Water Bash, interactive water play for young children, highlighting the Florida enviroment
• Bank of America Visitor Pavillion, the guest service center
• JM Family Great Hall of Science, the renovated lobby
• Stephen A. Keller, Sponsor of the Keller Science Theater and Stephen Keller Laboratory Classroom
• Aviation Station Expansion with MaxFlight simulator made possible by the Emil

Soffer’s Spending Draws Fire in Suit

New litigation turns nasty as countersuit moves forward

By Paul Brinkmann, South Florida Business Journal

A bitter legal fight has erupted between one of South Florida’s biggest business celebrities, Jeffrey Soffer of the Turnberry companies, and Bruce Weiner, a former CEO of Turnberry Residential LP.

The litigation has turned nasty, with Weiner alleging that Soffer siphoned millions of dollars from Turnberry companies for “upkeep of his baronial lifestyle.” The suit is the latest in a string of legal and financial entanglements for Soffer, who was forced to abandon his largest project, the $3 billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas, in a bankruptcy.

Soffer is famous for flashy spending, driving racecars and dating supermodels including Elle Macpherson. Weiner takes direct aim at those spending habits in his lawsuit.

“Among the dramatic examples of Jeff Soffer’s abuse … was a multimillion-dollar 40th birthday he threw for himself that was headlined by a live performance by Prince,” Weiner alleges in his complaint. Tabloids estimated the party alone cost $2 million.

Soffer fired the first shot in the battle. After firing Weiner in May 2010, he alleged in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court that Weiner betrayed Turnberry by privately negotiating to provide development services to Orlando-based Starwood Vacation Ownership on its new project, the St. Regis Bal Harbor Resort.

Turnberry alleged that Weiner, as CEO of Turnberry Residential, violated his fiduciary duties as an officer by forming a new company – Bal Star LLC – and arranging the Starwood deal. Turnberry alleged Weiner had the obligation to bring the St. Regis deal to them. Also named in the suit is Robert Vollrath, Turnberry’s former CFO.

“We’ve alleged that Turnberry, at this point, owns the Starwood deal,” Turnberry attorney Michael Olin said. “Turnberry made these guys very wealthy people. At the end of the day, they went off on their own and took the Starwood deal for themselves. They violated all their fiduciary duties to their employer.”

Circuit Judge Gill Freeman rejected Turnberry’s first complaint, telling attorneys it was not clear enough about the corporate structure of the Turnberry companies and what duties Weiner and Vollrath owed to them. The company is preparing to refile the suit.

In the meantime, Weiner filed his own counterclaim against Turnberry, naming Soffer and his sister, Jacquelyn Soffer in the suit.

Fort Lauderdale lawyer Tom Angelo is one of Weiner’s attorneys.

“Their filing the lawsuit necessitated Bruce filing his counterclaim,” Angelo said. “Bruce felt it was very unfortunate, given the fact he was there 20 years, working with them.”

According to Weiner’s lawsuit, he was a 5 percent owner of Turnberry Residential. The suit says he and the Soffers took out loans from Turnberry Residential when it was financed in 2004 with a $200 million loan and credit line from Prudential Real Estate Investors.

Weiner’s lawsuit says he repaid his loan of $4 million within the required two years. But, he alleges that Jeffrey Soffer took out $100 million and Jacquelyn Soffer took out $40 million, and that the two combined failed to repay a combined $40 million by the end of 2008.

According to Weiner’s suit, the Soffers then caused the company to “reclassify” the loans as distributions, without offering Weiner the same privilege. Weiner alleges he should have received 5 percent of that $40 million distribution.

Weiner also alleges he is still owed money from commissions on sales at Turnberry’s 1881 Rosslyn, a large luxury condominium in Arlington, Va., with views of the Washington Monument.

Olin scoffed at the notion that Turnberry owes any money to Weiner. “He’s out to lunch,” he said of Weiner’s claims.

The Turnberry complaint alleges that Weiner and Vollrath were so wrapped up in their Starwood plans that they allowed costly delays at the 1881 Rosslyn project.

Despite the litigation, Turnberry’s website still referred to Weiner as the CEO of Turnberry Residential on Feb. 22. It calls Weiner “a driving force in the development and sales of more than 16,000 homes” and “a highly regarded real estate development, sales and marketing executive.”

Turnberry’s media office said in an e-mail that it does not comment on litigation.

Angelo said Weiner was not bound by any non-compete clause: “In fact, he had a contract as a partner that specifically allowed him to do business outside of Turnberry.”

Weiner’s counterclaim alleges that Jacquelyn Soffer twice ordered audits of funds she and her brother received, and that the audits determined Weiner should have also received distributions. The suit does not elaborate on Jacquelyn Soffer’s motive for the audits or the results of the audits.

Miami real estate consultant Lewis Goodkin said Turnberry has so far weathered the economic downturn, but the end of the current real estate crisis is proving a bitter chapter for many similar companies.

“Relationships like theirs usually don’t go sour until the market goes sour,” Goodkin said. “That’s the kind of mess that we see people get into.”

THE DETAILS:

A lawsuit by a former Turnberry Residential executive alleges that Jeffrey Soffer used advances from his companies to fund a lavish lifestyle. The suit alleges Soffer’s extravagant expenses in recent years included:

• Two 100-foot-plus yachts.
• A $170 million, 257-foot mega yacht employing a 23-person crew.
• Building and furnishing a 22,000-square-foot waterfront mansion in Indian Creek, now assessed at about $14 million.
• A $36.5 million private, gated estate on Star Mountain in Aspen, Colo.
• A fleet of Ferrari racecars.

pbrinkmann@bizjournals.com | (954) 949-7562

2012 Mercedes-Benz Fort Lauderdale MAD for MODS Gala Breaks Fundraising Record

Gala honored Keith and Doreen Koenig for their service to the Museum and community.

“The Mercedes-Benz Fort Lauderdale MAD for MODS Gala held Saturday, November 3, 2012, was the Museum’s most successful gala in the event’s history and raised over $500,000 to benefit the Museum of Discovery and Science.”

Kim Cavendish – President and CEO, Museum of Discovery and Science

The celebration, which honored Keith and Doreen Koenig for their decades of outstanding generosity and service to the Museum and to the community, was also a testament to the community’s appreciation and support for the Museum.

Following the lead of honorees Mr. and Mrs. Koenig, the event’s co-chairs Tom Angelo of Angelo & Banta; Jon Ferrando of AutoNation; Tony Giordano of Mercedes-Benz Fort Lauderdale; and Jason Williams of Wells Fargo rallied a distinguished list of business and community leaders who were happy to show their support for the Museum. Through underwriting, sponsorships and attendance, the 2012 MAD for MODS Gala was definitely south Florida’s “must attend” event.

“Our goal was to smash the record for net proceeds raised for the Museum at a gala, and on behalf of the Board of Trustees and my fellow co-chairs, I am very proud we accomplished that and made this the most financially successful Gala in the history of the Museum.”

Jon Ferrando – Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Museum of Discovery and Science

The MAD for MODS theme was chosen to reflect the popular television series, Mad Men, and the Gala celebrated the good times in South Florida, circa 1960. The festivities began at 6:00 p.m. with the Wells Fargo Cocktail Reception in the museum’s new EcoDiscovery Center and included luscious hors d’oeuvres and an open bar generously provided by Southern Wine & Spirits. The reception was accompanied by a unique and impressive Silent Auction, including a Wine Cellar Auction, which was a unique addition to the event.

After cocktails, guests entered a specially-designed tent and were greeted by “Marilyn Monroe” before being serenaded by the Atlantic City Boys and welcomed by Louis Aguirre, anchor of WSVN’s DECO DRIVE. Awaiting them was an over-the-top dining experience specifically designed by Fort Lauderdale’s own, Chef Angelo Elia of the exquisite Casa D’Angelo, in combination with A. Thierry’s Catering.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have had a Sold-Out event that raised over $500,000 to benefit the Museum on an evening where we honored Keith and Doreen Koenig. This was a record evening for us and we look forward to doing it again next year.”

Tom Angelo – Gala Co-Chair and Board of Trustees Vice Chair, Museum of Discovery and Science

All proceeds benefit the Museum of Discovery and Science. Since 1977, the Museum of Discovery and Science has been a vital educational resource for the south Florida community. Through hands-on exhibits, engaging educational programs, films and a live animal collection, the Museum serves over 450,000 visitors each year and is the primary destination for school field trips in Broward County.

The dinner and dancing portion of the gala was held in a tent in the Museum’s backyard, site of the future MODS Science Park. Scheduled to open in 2015, the approximately 30,000 square foot Science Park facing Broward Boulevard will complete the Museum’s second and final phase of expansion that began with the EcoDiscovery Center opening in November of 2011. This new phase will also include some essential capital renovations to the current 20-year-old building as well as a digital upgrade of the AutoNation® IMAX Theater.

Lender targets Moss & Associates headquarters

By Paul Brinkmann, South Florida Business Journal

Attorneys for the lender on the stalled Chub Cay Club resort in the Bahamas have succeeded in gaining a charging order against one of Bob Moss’ companies.

The order means the company is now held legally responsible for paying a judgment against it, possibly in addition to interest and costs.

Moss, owner of the Moss & Associates construction company, is the subject of a collection attempt on a $24 million judgment against him and two other Fort Lauderdale businessmen who invested in the resort.

The lender is BA Chub Cay LLC, which is represented locally by attorney Tom Angelo, of Fort Lauderdale-based Angelo & Banta.

Moss has said repeatedly that he anticipates the judgment will be resolved by the eventual sale of the resort property, and that he doesn’t believe it will affect his primary business, Wilton Manors-based Moss & Associates.

The most recent action, however, puts the lenders claims squarely on a smaller operation that is 59 percent owned by Moss, Moss Office Building LLC, the owner of the Moss companies’ headquarters building at 2101 N. Andrews Ave.

U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas granted the lender a “charging order” on April 29. The order states that the lender “shall have only the rights of an assignee of all of Bob L. Moss’ membership interest in Moss Office Building LLC … until the above judgment has been satisfied or until further order of this court.”

A spokesman for Moss said the order was “procedural in nature” and does not affect Moss’ other companies in any way.

“If Moss Office Building LLC were ever to pay dividends to its shareholders, Chub Cay would have right to those dividends, or if the building would be sold. That’s all this does,” said Ray Casas, of Miami-based public relations firm Wragg & Casas.

Angelo declined to comment for this story, but he and his firm’s attorneys have already filed more motions, seeking orders on other Moss businesses, although not on Moss & Associates.

Motions are pending against Moss’ 9 percent interest in Fort Lauderdale-based Developort LC, and a series of oil development investments managed by Addison, Texas-based Grand Energy, where Moss has interests ranging from 1 percent to 3 percent.

Summary judgment in 2009
BA Chub Cay, which was an affiliate of Blackacre Capital Management, received summary judgment in July 2009 against Moss, the late Kaye Pearson and Walter McCrory in New York federal court. The award covered the $16 million principal and $8.2 million in interest.

As of 2009, Chub Cay was operating as a resort with customs, an airstrip, full marina and restaurant under a receiver appointed by the Bahamian government.

Moss Office Building owns portions of the property at 2101 N. Andrews Ave., which is valued at $2.41 million, according to county property records. Moss’s 59 percent ownership would be about $1.4 million.

Earlier this year, a Broward County Circuit Court judge approved an effort to include Cheryl Pearson, the widow of Kaye Pearson, as a defendant in the case. Kaye Pearson was best known as the founder of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Broward Circuit Judge Mark Speiser granted the order Feb. 8, after attorneys for BA Chub Cay alleged that Kaye Pearson transferred assets to his wife in 2008 as the lender pursued the developers to enforce personal guarantees they had made on loans for the resort project. The senior lender on the Chub Cay project settled out, and BA Chub Cay was the former mezzanine lender.

Pearson, McCrory and Moss were among 41 local investors who purchased the 1,000-acre island in 2004 and developed a marina with more than 100 slips. The development’s pool and first 16 luxury oceanfront homes were completed.

pbrinkmann@bizjournals.com | (954) 949-7562

BuilderFinancial litigation grinds through courts

By Paul Brinkmann, South Florida Business Journal

Prominent mezzanine lender BuilderFinancial Corp. recently won a small victory in its ongoing legal battles against investors and borrowers in South Florida courts.

Fort Lauderdale securities attorney Charles Pearlman and the former chairman of Arthur Andersen are part of a group that’s suing a prominent Wharton School alumnus amid the collapse of a $199 million mezzanine fund, Builder Funding and BFWest LLC, and their parent company, Builder Financial. The plaintiffs are suing over $40 million in compensation, some of it paid by borrowers.

BuilderFinancial has filed motions to dismiss the Pearlman complaint in Broward County Circuit Court, which are still pending. Two other related lawsuits by other investors, represented by the Tripp Scott law firm, are also pending, but Builder Funding attorneys have filed motions to disqualify Tripp Scott.

“We’ll be resuming our lending business one way or another after the litigation is concluded and the markets stabilization,” said Kyle Meyer, president of BuilderFinancial.

Meanwhile, the company recently won a ruling in another case filed by one of its former borrowers, Gary Goldstein of Palm Beach County, in a lawsuit over a mortgage loan on a condo property.

The fund, Builder Funding, and its parent company were led by defendant Andrew Heller, who sits on Wharton’s board of overseers, and Meyer.

All of BuilderFinancial’s former mortgages and notes under its former subsidiary

BFWest have been assumed by its top financer, German bank WestLB and its U.S. real estate arm, Indigo Real Estate.

Indigo had attempted to foreclose on a loan to Goldstein, which was last recorded in a mortgage modification showing a total of $15.85 million in December 2005.

Goldstein borrowed from BuilderFinancial to assemble properties along Federal Highway, north of downtown West Palm Beach. But, Goldstein filed suit against Indigo and BuilderFinancial, alleging that the interest rates and fees had been usurious – exceptionally high in cost. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jack Cox ruled March 9 that the rates and fees were not usurious. Some other aspects of the lawsuit may go forward, but the usury allegation was a major piece of it.

“The discount fee, origination fee and facility fee constitute interest for purposes of the usury statute. The interest reserve, however, cannot be added in more than once, which is what the plaintiff’s calculation attempts to do,” Cox’s order states. “Any attempt to include the interest reserve as additional interest under the Spreading Statute, and then added that number to the 8 percent stated interest rate, would be double counting.”

Fort Lauderdale attorney Tom Angelo represented BuilderFinancial in Goldstein’s suit.

“It’s important because there are other cases out there in South Florida where borrowers are trying to escape their obligations by asserting usury,” he said. “These borrowers are saying we didn’t know what we agreed to pay, therefore we don’t want to pay you back.”

Business leaders among investors

On the investor side, plaintiffs against BuilderFinancial include Joe Berardino, former chairman of Arthur Andersen; Hal Beretz, former president at Phibro-Salomon (later Salomon Smith Barney); William Grayson, former senior VP at Macy’s; the Albert Miniaci and Beatriz Miniaci revocable trust funds, and the Alvin Sherman Trust. The Sherman and Miniaci names are prominent on the research center and theater at Nova Southeastern University.

The original complaint in the case alleged that Builder Funding, a mezzanine loan fund established in 2000, sold $99 million in investment units and borrowed an additional $100 million. When the investors were told in June 2007 that the fund was being liquidated, they also found out that fund manager and parent company BuilderFinancial Corp. (BFC) had not disclosed some of its compensation to investors, the complaint alleges.

Todd Levine, partner with Kluger, Kaplan, Silverman, Katzen & Levine in Miami, represents the Builder Funding companies, Heller, Meyer and principal George Henderson Jr.

Levine has said the defendants deny the allegations and that fees were disclosed.

While Heller and Meyer are defendants in the case, they also have investments at risk in the liquidation, the complaint indicates. They and five other defendants owned a combined $32.9 million in units as of September 2007, a chart with the complaint states.

According to the complaint, the $100 million in financing for the fund came from WestLB.

The Pearlman lawsuit was filed by attorneys with Kopelowitz Ostrow in Fort Lauderdale, including David Ferguson. He said the suit has been delayed by several procedural matters, and now includes 50 plaintiffs.

pbrinkmann@bizjournals.com | (954) 949-7562

Angelo and Banta attorneys prevail in fraudulent transfer action by adding wife as co-defendant in Chub Cay lawsuit

By Paul Brinkmann, South Florida Business Journal

Attorneys for the lender on the stalled Chub Cay Club resort in the Bahamas are still trying to collect a $24 million judgment against three Fort Lauderdale businessmen who invested in the project.

In the most recent action, a Broward County Circuit Court judge approved an effort to include Cheryl Pearson, the widow of Kaye Pearson, one of the developers, as a defendant in the case. Kaye Pearson was best known as the founder of the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.

Judge Mark Speiser granted the order Feb. 8, after attorneys for the lender, BA Chub Cay LLC, alleged that Kaye Pearson transferred assets to his wife in 2008, as the lender pursued the developers to enforce personal guarantees they had made on loans for the resort project.

BA Chub Cay, which was an affiliate of Blackacre Capital Management, received summary judgment in July 2009 against Kaye, Bob Moss and Walter McCrory in New York federal court. The award covered the $16 million principal and $8.2 million in interest.

As of 2009, Chub Cay was operating as a resort with customs, an airstrip, full marina and restaurant under a receiver appointed by the Bahamian government.

Tom Angelo, an attorney for lender BA Chub Cay, said the senior lender on the project settled out, and he represents the former mezzanine lender.

Instead of suing Cheryl Pearson separately, Angelo filed a motion for BA Chub Cay in Kaye Pearson’s probate case to “implead” her, or include her, as a defendant.

Transferring funds

The motion alleges that Kaye Pearson transferred 100,000 shares of stock in his company, KAP Group LLC, to his wife in April and July 2008, when Kaye Pearson was already facing efforts to enforce the personal guarantees on the loan. The motion does not say how much the shares were worth.

According to the motion, the transfer was civil fraud because Kaye Pearson made it to an insider, didn’t disclose it, transferred substantially all of his assets, did not receive equivalent value in return and transferred the funds shortly before a substantial debt was incurred.

“We’ll be able to accomplish more discovery now, and find out where that money or the assets went after the transfer,” Angelo said.

Mike Goldberg, a bankruptcy attorney with Akerman Senterfitt, said the attorneys for lenders in South Florida often encounter transfers to wives or family members during efforts to pursue recovery.

Goldberg said Florida has strong laws that help to protect common assets of married people, known as ‘tenancy by the entirety,” but the Pearson transfer went one step beyond that.

Pearson, McCrory and Moss were among 41 other local investors who purchased the 1,000-acre island in 2004 and developed a marina with more than 100 slips, according to a news release. The development’s pool and first 16 luxury oceanfront homes have been completed.

A spokeswoman for Moss said Feb. 15 that he still intends for the sale of the property to satisfy the judgment.

Moss has made public announcements that he, and not his construction company or any other business interest, is responsible for the loss, and that he hopes the project will be a bigger success after more economic recovery.

Moss said the economy delayed a possible sale of Chub Cay Club, anticipated in 2008, and dramatically slowed real estate sales on the island.

Midsize law firms pick up clients as companies turn from pricey giants

By Chris Herring, The Wall Street Journal

“Bigger is better” long has applied to hiring law firms. Generally, the larger the firm, the greater its prestige and the more likely it was to reel in corporate business.

But to cut costs during the recession, U.S. businesses increasingly are handing work to less expensive small and midsize firms, typically those with fewer than 200 attorneys. And while their larger counterparts are laying off lawyers, some smaller firms are hiring attorneys to keep up with new business.

The large firms — those with several hundred, or even a thousand, lawyers — are adjusting to compete with their smaller brethren, which have more flexibility in billing, thanks to lower fixed costs like payroll and rent.

A survey of 550 large companies by BTI Consulting Group found that 38% of the law firms they hired last year came from below the nation’s top 200 in terms of revenue, which generally means small and midsize firms. That was up from 25% in 2007.

Wayne Risoli says billings are up 8% at 100-lawyer Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

John Quinn, a founder of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP, a 400-lawyer business-litigation firm based in Los Angeles, acknowledges there’s been something of a switch to small firms. But he says there are limits to what sorts of work corporations would pitch to previously untapped shops. “For the major cases, clients will still be looking for the most experienced firms, who have shown that they can handle this sort,” he says. “I don’t think that will change.”

Still, some work is going to smaller firms. Hit hard by slumping auto sales, AutoNation Inc., the largest car-dealership chain in the U.S., has had to rein in spending. So the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company recently handed the legal work for its move across town to Angelo & Banta PA, a South Florida firm of just seven lawyers.

Jon Ferrando, AutoNation’s general counsel, says he typically would have hired a larger firm for such a matter. In this case, though, he sought a firm that knew the region well and charged less than a big firm.

AutoNation saved 20% to 25% on fees by retaining Angelo & Banta, Mr. Ferrando says. Angelo & Banta managing shareholder Tom Angelo says his firm charges $200-$495 an hour for work done by senior partners.

Georgia Pacific Corp., a paper and building-products manufacturer, in February gave a large piece of commercial litigation to Houston-based Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin, which has about 100 lawyers. Atlanta-based Georgia Pacific might not have hired the firm before the recession, says General Counsel John Childs. “There are a number of factors that go into choosing which firm to give your work to, but it’s fair to say that economics have shot up to the top of that list.”

Chamberlain Hrdlicka bills $420 an hour on average for work done by senior partners, managing shareholder Wayne Risoli says. Georgia Pacific’s large firms typically bill between $700 and $800 an hour, says Mr. Childs.

Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s billings are up 8% from the same time last year, Mr. Risoli says, and because of the firm’s success he plans to hire another 10 lawyers or so within the year.

General counsel and consultants say that to keep valuable clients, big firms have been more receptive to charging flat fees, removing some uncertainty for clients who otherwise would be billed by the hour. And when large firms do charge hourly rates, they often are doing so at a discount.

SunGard Data Systems Inc., a software-service provider, still gives a fair amount of its legal work to two big Philadelphia firms: 1,400-lawyer Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and 1,000-lawyer Blank Rome LLP. But each has offered alternative fee arrangements that aren’t strictly based on hourly rates, says SunGard General Counsel Victoria Silbey.

“We’ve been very proactive about partnering with our clients to make creative flexible agreements,” says Carl M. Buchholz, Blank Rome’s managing partner.

Morgan Lewis didn’t respond to requests for comment.

General counsel and law-firm consultants say large, prestigious firms certainly will regain work when the economy recovers and transactional work picks up. But people in the industry predict that small firms might hang on to straightforward legal work, for example, small contract disputes or simple labor and employment matters.

Why I Live Here

by Tom Angelo as seen in the May 2009 issue of Florida Trend magazine

As someone who grew up in New York City, I always wanted to find a place to live that had the vibrancy and culture of New York without the hassles of a long commute and a four-hour drive during the summer to the Hamptons. I have found all of that and more in Fort Lauderdale. My commute to work down Las Olas Boulevard is just five minutes (10, if I stop by Gran Forno bakery for an espresso). We also have world-class shopping and restaurants like Cafe Mortorano and Casa D’Angelo. Fort Lauderdale also has great cultural opportunities such as the Museum of Discovery and Science which offer exhibits that would rival other major cities.

Fort Lauderdale has a business-friendly environment which has a attracted and retains some thriving businesses such as AutoNation, City Furniture and Cundy Insurance. We have an incoming Mayor, Jack Seiler, who I believe will make Fort Lauderdale an even better place to do business than it is today.

And while Fort Lauderdale is a thriving urban area, it is also boasts some of the best parks and open spaces that allow my children to enjoy sports year round. We even have great educational institutions, such as Pine Crest preparatory school, which has been in existence since the 1930s.

Another positive about living in Fort Lauderdale is our airport, which is just 10 minutes from home and allows us to fly anywhere around the world. And when I do leave on a trip, whether for business or vacation, I always look forward to coming home.