January 02, 2025

Law360 Pulse Quotes Michael Joblove on the Growing Florida Legal Market

2 min

On January 2, 2025, Law360 Pulse quoted Michael Joblove on the growing legal market in Florida.

According to the article, law firms are anticipating continued growth in 2025 in the Florida legal market.

Commenting on Venable’s outlook in Florida, Joblove shared that Venable LLP is still fairly new to the South Florida market since it combined with Genovese Joblove & Battista PA almost two years ago, but he also confirmed that the firm hopes to expand in the areas of corporate, real estate, and trust and estates in the coming year.

"That's driven by a combination of where we see opportunities in this market to grow, as well as existing work for clients from other offices and bolster our ability to serve clients from other offices in those practice areas here," he said.

Joblove said he believes Venable is desirable for potential candidates in part because its Florida presence is rooted in a law firm that practiced in the area for 25 years. Additionally, Venable isn't charging Florida clients New York or Chicago rates, he added.

"The firm just has a great culture, meaning that as a partnership, it is very collaborative. It is a true partnership. It's not governing from the top down. And I think in terms of a work environment for lawyers, that's a big plus," Joblove said.

When asked about his thoughts on how best to incorporate artificial intelligence into legal work, Joblove shared that Venable is currently testing AI tools to see how they might be used in its legal practices.

"I think people are interested in it," Joblove said. "I do see that in the profession that AI is also being used, let's say, to the degree there are templates that are used for common transactions. I do a lot of franchising. Let's assume you have a franchisor client that owns a lot of its real estate for its brand. And so there are leases among various states for 2,000 locations. AI can be used to create a first draft of leases, again, carefully with lawyer supervision."

Commenting on competitive pay for quality candidates, Joblove said that Venable takes a thoughtful approach to compensation. "There is a dynamic in the South Florida market, and maybe nationally as well, where there is pressure to raise compensation. We've done that here to be competitive. And then as you raise compensation, there's an impact on the rates you charge," Joblove said.

Click here to access the article.