Michael Platner, Managing Director, Lewis Brisbois
The legal sector continues to be the support businesses need to navigate challenges and fuel the growth of companies. And as the economy evolves, so do the legal needs of businesses. In an interview with Invest:, Michael Platner, managing director for Lewis Brisbois, explains the role of the legal sector on the growth happening in Fort Lauderdale and the broader region. “Fort Lauderdale, as well as Broward County, continues to be a dynamically growing market and place where companies from throughout the country, and the world, continue to migrate,” Platner said.
What have been the key highlights for Lewis Brisbois over the past 12 months?
We are one of the 10 largest law firms in the United States with offices in more than 50 cities. In regard to the Fort Lauderdale market, it has been one of our fastest growing and most successful offices in the firm, which says a lot about the region and our lawyers. In 2024, we finally surpassed 50 lawyers in our Fort Lauderdale office — which is a huge deal for us. Fort Lauderdale, as well as Broward County, continues to be a dynamically growing market and place where companies from throughout the country and the world continue to migrate. One of the most significant aspects of our firm in Fort Lauderdale is that it replicates the full-service nature of the different types of law that are practiced by our firm nationally, and many of our national practice leaders happen to be in our Fort Lauderdale office. This has helped fuel the growth of our office because our lawyers are working on matters not just in South Florida but are also heavily engaged with teams across the country.
What is the state of the legal sector in Greater Fort Lauderdale?
We have to first consider the growth of the economy and commerce in Broward County. Throughout the years, what I continue to see as a legal professional is that Fort Lauderdale is a great place to start and build a private company. As you drive through this market, you will see businesses that are doing anywhere between $100 million and $400 million in revenue. South Florida has long been a magnet for migration, but what was once a destination primarily for retirees has evolved into a thriving hub for businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals seeking growth. The accessibility of capital, banking, and comparable resources has given rise to the people, entrepreneurs, and private equity firms that are settling in the region. The ramifications of all of this to the legal sector mean that they are servicing a growing market. For law firms with a growth mindset, there seems to be an endless supply of important and grateful clients who are thrilled to have the resources available to them thanks to the legal community in South Florida. This has been a huge advantage for our firm in particular. We have been able to bring to the table the resources of more than 1,600 national lawyers and their expertise in different practice areas. The companies that are building their presence in Fort Lauderdale are not only serving clients locally, but from all over the world, and they need world-class legal representation that is sophisticated and can be leveraged to expand their business and create success to serve their clientele.
Which practice areas are experiencing the most demand in the firm?
We have always had very strong growth in the technology arena with companies that provide technology solutions as a service. Consistently, we have had a special relationship with those types of companies and the ability to serve them well. There are so many private businesses that form and scale up in South Florida that positioning those companies for wealth creation and liquidity events has been a big growth engine for the firm, namely in the corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions practice areas.
What challenges are your clients experiencing?
People-related issues are always at the top of the list. The hiring and managing of talent and navigating employment laws as they continue to evolve have been challenging for many companies. Also, hiring higher-end talent and navigating the diversity initiatives that have been promoted over the years have been challenging. Employment compliance poses seemingly never-ending challenges for business owners. There are many employers in Fort Lauderdale that have achieved the status of being employers of choice but it has not been easy to accomplish in the environment that we are in. There are a lot of litigation and risk management challenges associated with how businesses manage their people, and companies are always striving to improve in this area. We have a very active employment practice representing employers in all aspects of handling risk management around hiring and managing talent. With regard to corporate finance, especially with the current state of interest rates and the ongoing consolidation of the banking industry, it has been interesting. It has produced more sophisticated lenders, investment banks, and bankers. Fort Lauderdale has grown its ability to provide these resources to companies, which has given them more options in the ways that they handle their corporate finance and obtain capital for growth and scaling their businesses. At the same time, there has been a lot of transition in the banking industry in Broward County. Many companies found they needed to change their banking relationships. Transition is always costly and risky. There is a lot of movement between commercial banks and a lot of competition for commercial lenders, as well as a lot of opportunity for unconventional lenders and investment banks that are paying attention to our market way more now than they did in the past.
How is AI transforming the legal sector from your perspective?
In terms of using AI in our practice, it has become pervasive and challenging at the same time. As you automate functions using AI, you cannot replace the judgment and quality of the output from what an experienced lawyer can accomplish. We have the latest tools that help streamline the due diligence process, whether it’s thousands of documents for litigation or corporate acquisition, or real estate matters. The ability to determine how to become an expert in using the tools so that you do not inadvertently become over reliant on the shortcuts that the tools provide is a big challenge when it comes to maintaining the quality of the ultimate output.
These tools can provide a brief in a matter of minutes when it would have taken a lawyer 30 to 40 hours to produce. Is this helpful? Yes, it can be. But then it takes a different skill set to review the work produced by AI and use these tools to improve the work that lawyers can do while maintaining accuracy. We have seen numerous instances where even the best tools would produce output that misinterprets the case law that it is trying to describe, or it provides incorrect citations. When using AI, lawyers have to be aware of where the data is coming from, what biases may have been programmed into the system, and I think the only way to really learn this is by using the technology and being an expert in its limitations. This is a new feature, but in law, precision and accuracy are what matter most. To the extent that AI is a shortcut that delegates any tasks having to do with precision and accuracy to a computer, you will always be subject to where the buck stops. As lawyers, we have an ethical and professional obligation to take full responsibility for our work and practice at the highest standards. If we are delegating our responsibility to that output exclusively to a computer and not revising the work ourselves, then arguably we are not meeting that standard. Automation always creates efficiency as well as new challenges related to managing the automation so that quality is not lost.
