David Singer, Partner, Older Lundy Alvarez Koch & Martino

July 2026 — Invest: spoke with David Singer, partner at Older Lundy Koch & Martino, about how the law firm is expanding its capabilities while Tampa Bay’s development pipeline accelerates and client expectations shift toward faster, more business-minded legal support. “Clients want efficiency and the ability to cut through red tape where it exists,” Singer said.

What key changes over the past year have most impacted the firm, and in what ways?

Technology is moving at a rapid pace, and 2025 was a big year for AI. As a firm that wants to stay on the leading edge, we’re always evaluating how new tools can help us serve clients more efficiently and effectively.

It was also a year where the professional services market felt stable enough that people could explore new opportunities again. We tried to take advantage of that by attracting strong talent and expanding our practice capabilities.

The Tampa Bay market continues to be somewhat insulated from the extremes impacting other parts of the country. With so many people moving into the region, there is sustained demand for legal services of all kinds. That supported a strong year of growth for us, including bringing on lateral partners, broadening practice areas, and increasing our overall capacity.

Which recent initiatives or developments stand out most for the firm, and how have they influenced your work with clients?

Our firm started as a family law-focused firm, and we’ve been very intentional about rounding out our service offerings to match the growth of the community. In 2025, that included expanding our real estate team, adding an intellectual property group, strengthening litigation, and growing our trusts and estates capabilities.

That breadth matters because clients rarely have one isolated issue. A growing business may need real estate guidance, IP protection, and a litigation strategy, sometimes in parallel. We want to support those needs in a coordinated way.

Looking ahead to 2026, we plan to keep strengthening existing practice groups while remaining open to adding new offerings as client needs evolve. For us, 2025 was a strong proof point that the strategy works when it’s paired with the right people and the right culture.

How is the firm approaching talent development and retention in an increasingly competitive market in Tampa?

Any firm that wants to grow successfully has to focus on retention first and acquisition second. Retention starts with recognizing who you have, what their strengths are, and ensuring they feel valued. That means ideas are considered and implemented when appropriate, and it means reducing unnecessary hierarchy so people feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.

When people feel that ownership, they stick around, and they help the firm grow. Internal talent also becomes your best recruiting engine. Tampa is a strong relationship-minded community. People call it one of the biggest small towns in America because most professionals are only one or two degrees apart.

That network makes it easier to identify talent, but we also use a cultural barometer. We look for more than technical skills. We want people who value interpersonal relationships, have an entrepreneurial spirit, think like businesspeople, and focus on results rather than process.

When that framework is apparent before someone walks in the door, the conversation becomes less about interviewing and more about collaboration on how we build the firm together.

How are land use or housing policy shifts affecting development activity across the Tampa Bay region?

There is a clear recognition that housing demand is real, and municipalities are becoming less focused on process and more focused on results. Many local governments have offered incentives to encourage development, and we’ve also seen a shift toward streamlining permitting and approvals so projects can move faster.

What stands out is the collaborative approach between the public and private sectors to deliver outcomes. Tampa Bay also has leaders and regional organizations that study what has worked in other markets and adapt those ideas locally, and that willingness to learn has influenced policy in meaningful ways.

What are clients in Tampa Bay most focused on right now when it comes to land use, zoning, and approvals?

If I could sum it up in one word, it’s speed, and that’s driven by demand. People continue to move to the area, and development has to keep up across housing, office, retail, and other sectors. When the market is growing this quickly, time becomes one of the most expensive variables in a project.

Clients want efficiency and the ability to cut through red tape where it exists. They expect their advisers to anticipate obstacles, find creative solutions, and keep projects moving so doors open faster, while still protecting their long-term interests.

That requires a practical mindset. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is listening closely, understanding what success looks like for the client, and aligning strategy with the outcome the market requires.

What are the biggest challenges in the region, and where do you see the opportunities growing?

From a development perspective, the biggest challenge is infrastructure. Rapid growth strains transportation, flood management, and the integrity of the built environment. Questions like how to move people efficiently, how to manage water responsibly, and how to increase density safely are not going away.

At the same time, those challenges create opportunities for innovation. Many regions still rely on outdated approaches to mobility. There is room for new thinking, whether that is transportation technology, autonomous and electric vehicles, dedicated lanes, or smarter planning that improves movement through the region. If you ask leaders around Tampa Bay, transportation and mobility are at the top of the list, and I have confidence the region will be an early adopter of what comes next.

Growth also creates community pressures leaders have to address. How do you ensure there is affordable, safe housing? How do you ensure food access in underserved areas? With tourism playing such a large role in the economy, how do you ensure people are employed safely and paid wages that allow them to raise families? Those issues have to stay in the conversation alongside the technical approvals and development of major projects.

Looking ahead to the next few years, what are your key priorities for your practice, and how do you see Tampa Bay’s legal and development landscape evolving?

The priority is balance, and it starts with creative problem-solving. Clients will continue to face challenges tied to land use, regulation, and the realities of building in a high-growth market. Our role is to help clients make the best use of space, meet business needs, and navigate approvals in a way that is efficient.

Tampa Bay will also see more large, complex developments in the near future, and it can be easy to get wrapped up in the biggest projects. But the region still has to ensure there is enough housing, that people can reach work, that schools are resourced, and that support systems like childcare keep pace with growth.

As the market evolves, lawyers are increasingly expected to be business partners. It is not assuming the same approach works every time in every circumstance. It is listening, understanding objectives, and matching legal procedure to the best business solution to get the desired results.

Tampa Bay is on a strong trajectory, and I expect that will continue as new ideas and technologies reshape how our communities grow.