Alan Higbee, Partner and Member of the Executive Committee, Shutts & Bowen LLP

June 2026 — Alan Higbee, partner in the Tampa office and member of the Corporate Practice Group at Shutts & Bowen LLP, spoke with Invest: about Tampa Bay’s continued business growth, the expansion of defense and federal contracting activity, and how the firm is adapting its services to meet a more sophisticated market. “It has pushed us to think bigger, to cover more areas, and to deepen our bench in more sophisticated practice areas,” Higbee said.

What key changes over the past year have impacted Shutts & Bowen in Tampa Bay, and in what ways?

I think the biggest change has been the continued growth of the Tampa Bay market. We have seen an influx of new businesses coming into the region in different ways. Some have entered through acquisitions of existing companies in order to expand an established presence, while others have come in fresh and decided to plant their own seeds and grow from scratch. Either way, the level of activity has been significant over the last few years.

How have those external changes influenced the firm’s strategic direction?

We have been very conscious of being available and providing all the services that are necessary for this new generation of businesses moving into Tampa. Many of the companies arriving now see Tampa as a more sophisticated and larger market than they may have in the past.

A lot of the businesses moving here are also here to support businesses that are already established, so it has created a learning curve in terms of the kinds of industries and business models we are seeing. Our focus has been on making sure we can provide everything those clients need as they enter the market and grow.

From your perspective, what differentiates Tampa Bay from other major markets in Florida as a place to do business?

Tampa certainly has its own style and culture, and I think that is very attractive to certain businesses. Other parts of Florida, particularly the Southeast coast, have their own culture as well, which may appeal to different companies. Businesses have had a real opportunity to choose where they want to land based on what best fits their needs.

Tampa Bay also has a major strategic advantage in MacDill Air Force Base. Most of the federal agencies you can name have some kind of office there. One of our areas of specialization in Tampa is working with defense and other federal contractors, and we have seen an explosion of that activity. Given everything happening in the world, demand in that area continues to grow, and with MacDill here, a lot of it is being concentrated in the Tampa Bay area.

With the growth of that industry, you also see all the sub-industries that support it coming in as well. We are seeing that broader ecosystem develop, and that is one of the things that sets Tampa Bay apart.

How is Shutts & Bowen approaching talent attraction in today’s competitive legal landscape?

Carefully. We have always taken the view that it is not about just putting bodies in chairs, but about putting the right bodies in chairs. We continue to be selective and continue to look for the best and the brightest.

I think we have built a platform that helps us attract that kind of talent. As we have grown, we have grown with people who have very strong technical skills in their areas of legal expertise, but also with people who have the excellent people skills that matter in a service business. Once you begin attracting that level of talent, it tends to build on itself. Strong people want to work with other strong people.

What key trends are shaping your work in the legal industry right now?

Everything has become more complicated. There are many areas of practice today that did not exist when the firm was founded more than a century ago, and that complexity continues to grow quickly.

We are also seeing clients look to Florida-based law firms for the types of services they may not have expected or been able to find here in the past. Historically, they might have turned to firms in larger metropolitan areas outside the state for certain sophisticated matters. While Florida may not be New York, the level of talent here has grown tremendously, and firms in this market are increasingly able to provide that same caliber of service.

That has affected our strategy in a meaningful way. It has pushed us to think bigger, to cover more areas, and to deepen our bench in more sophisticated practice areas.

What are some of the primary challenges facing your firm or your clients right now, and how are you turning those into opportunities?

A big part of the challenge is keeping pace with the market. One of our largest practice areas in Tampa is construction. Construction has always been active in Florida, but since COVID it has exploded. The same is true in real estate.

That kind of growth means you have to stay ahead of the curve. We have had to expand both our construction and real estate practices rapidly, but again, the challenge is doing that with the right people, not simply more people. That takes a lot of planning, and a lot of that planning has to be accomplished far in advance of the anticipated need.

If you prepare well, you can build both the depth and the breadth necessary to take advantage of the opportunities that will develop and be prepared to serve the market. In some areas, it is about sophistication and specialization. In others, it is simply about volume because the demand for services has increased so dramatically. Law firms are service organizations first and foremost. If we cannot provide good service in a timely way, then we are not delivering what clients need.

How is Shutts & Bowen engaging with the communities it serves, particularly in Tampa Bay?

From the beginning, we have understood that being part of the community is extremely important. We have people serving in all kinds of capacities on boards and in leadership roles across the market. Giving back is also a major priority, especially through our extensive market pro bono legal services.

I am very proud of what the firm has done in that regard. We have helped establish major pro bono assistance projects, our people have chaired some of those efforts and we provided regular staffing for them. That kind of community work really matters.

We also support major nonprofit organizations that are trying to improve the community more broadly, whether that is environmentally, through efforts to sustain the bay, or through other civic priorities that become even more important as the region grows. We have attorneys who effectively serve as outside general counsel to some of those organizations and devote hundreds of hours a year to that work.

We are certainly a business law firm, and our focus is on assisting businesses. But if you do not have a strong community and a sustainable environment, it becomes harder for businesses to succeed and for the community to attract new businesses. Companies need to attract talent, and people want to live and work in places that are healthy, vibrant, and sustainable.

What are your key goals and priorities for Shutts & Bowen over the next two to three years?

We set high standards, and we want to be the best we can possibly be. We are always looking for ways to improve, whether that means strengthening our depth in certain practice areas, expanding our breadth, or investing in talent and technology.

We do strategic planning with a long-term view. We are not just asking what we need by the end of next year. We are asking what we need to do by 2030 and 2035. That means making long-term investments in people, capabilities, technologies and systems.

Technology is a major part of that. The legal profession has seen enormous changes with the rise of AI, some good and some not so good. The key questions are how to use it, how not to use it, how to protect clients from its risks, and how to help clients benefit from it. It is here to stay, so you have to get in front of it. That takes planning, and we are putting significant effort into making sure we do that well.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I think we’re very fortunate to be in a market like Tampa Bay, where opportunities abound. You have to seize those opportunities smartly and make sure you are still doing your very best, rather than simply jumping in before you are prepared.

A lot of 2026 is about preparation. It is about getting ready not only for what is here now, but for what is coming next, and making sure you are positioned to be the best you can be.