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Shutts & Bowen Earns Top Spot for Hispanic Attorneys in Law360 National Large and Midsized Firm SurveyShutts & Bowen made the top of Law360's list of best firms for Hispanic attorneys, in a survey released this week. Shutts & Bowen led the top 25 large and midsized firms in the nation, with Hispanic attorneys making up 11.5 percent of the firm's partners and 13.4 percent of its equity partners. According to Law360's 2015 Law Minority Report, the nearly 300 firms providing data reported that roughly 3.3 percent of attorneys and 2.5 percent of partners are Hispanic. Law360 is a subscription-based legal news service operated by the Portfolio Media company, a subsidiary of Lexis-Nexis. "I think it's difficult to compete in this market without having the ability to communicate in Spanish, and being an Hispanic lawyer gives you a certain affinity with the client," the article quoted Francis "Frank" Rodriguez, partner-in-charge (managing partner) of Shutts & Bowen's Miami office and leader of the firm's Latin America Practice Group. Rodriguez said the firm often targets bilingual attorneys for its summer associat programs and in such practice areas as real estate, litigation, international tax and transactions, where the firm gets many clients from Latin America. Beyond the language skills, Rodriguez said that he would not underestimate the importance of the cultural component and the ability of Hispanic lawyers to connect with clients from Latin America on a social level. "Culturally, you understand them, and language-wise you can communicate with them. It's another skill set you can have to make yourself attractive to potential clients." In the article, attorneys cite Miami's position as a crossroads of the Americas, where the ability to communicate in Spanish, and to a certain extent Portuguese, has only grown more essential for a full-service law firm to remain competitive, along with legal, cultural and social fluency with Latin America's distinct cultures. Says Bowman Brown, chair of Shutts & Bowen's Executive Committee: "We expect these ties to grow in South Florida, as we grow as a hemispheric center for wealth, finance, business and litigation. It is vital for us to stay ahead of this curve." About Shutts & Bowen LLP Shutts & Bowen, established in 1910, is a full-service business law firm with more than 250 lawyers in offices in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach. Learn more about Shutts & Bowen at www.shutts.com.
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