Mark Raymond, Miami Office Managing Partner, Nelson Mullins
Invest: sat down with Mark Raymond, Miami office managing partner of Nelson Mullins, a national law firm, to discuss how the law firm is adapting to a fast-changing legal and business environment, particularly on the technology side. “This is moving rapidly, and you need to get engaged presently,” Raymond said.
What investments or initiatives are you making to ensure the office remains competitive in an increasingly sophisticated legal environment in Miami and South Florida?
We’ve made a big push into AI. I’m part of the AI team firm-wide for our 1,100 lawyers, and we are rapidly learning how we can engage AI to the benefit of our clients.
In addition to that, I’m encouraging our lawyers to get into the C-suites with their clients and say I’d like to sit down and be in the back of the room as you’re talking about your business and how you’re thinking AI will impact it, why you are concerned about it, how you think your competitors use it, and what are the next steps in adoption of AI for your company. I’m not going to bill you for it. This isn’t a billing event; this is a learning event so that I can talk to you and other clients about trends we see and what we need to be aware of.
This is moving rapidly, and you need to get engaged presently. I don’t think many lawyers are thinking about inviting themselves to go visit with their clients when their clients are having AI strategy meetings, but I think everyone needs to do just that to get better educated.
How is the firm positioning itself to support high-net-worth companies and high-net-worth individuals who are coming to the region?
That’s something we’ve always done. We were founded here in the 1940s, and we were a banking and trust and estates-focused firm then, and we still are now. In the state of Florida, we probably have over 40 trust and estate professionals. We have an office in Palm Beach that is devoted only to trusts and estates. We’ve always serviced that sector, and we continue to do that.
The real growth has been in probate litigation. There is more litigation because the trusts and the disputes are so large. The decimal points have moved; they’ve moved two and three times.
Transactions within families now are more sizable, and the movement of money means you need to think about how you are deploying the assets and how you are shaping the next generation. It was one thing when you thought that your children would inherit $100 million. It’s a whole other when they’re going to inherit $2 to $20 billion.
They need trustees who can provide them with experience and advice. I am a trustee for several billion-dollar trusts because they need seasoned people with judgment. What do you get retained for? You get retained for your trust and your judgment. That’s what they need, and that is what they’re looking for.
How do the firm’s expanded capabilities reflect evolving client demand in Miami and South Florida?
Let me take you back. The reason our prior firm, Broad and Cassel, merged into Nelson Mullins was that, as part of the executive committee, I was always analyzing our clients’ needs. One thing that I learned is that while Florida continued to be a growth state, clients were also expanding into other high-growth markets. By merging when we did seven years ago, on day one, we would be in eight of the 10 fastest-growing cities in the United States. We’re now in all 10.
Our clients are doing the same thing. A client that’s been in a Florida market for 30 or 40 years may believe that market is overpriced or oversaturated. They might then look at a high-growth city elsewhere, such as North and South Carolina, or Texas. It’s the movement.
I had dinner recently with a company that’s only 12 years old. They have $60 billion in real estate. How did they get there so fast? Through examining data. They use AI, they look at rent trends, they look at growth trends, and they conclude, for example, a particular market needs 2,000 more apartments in this price range, and they go in and they build them. It’s a fascinating model.
That’s what AI is going to drive. It’s going to drive metrics and data that you employ to guide you in your strategic endeavors, both as to where you need to go and also by providing metrics the other way, which is where the slowdowns are likely to be.
How are you advising clients who are balancing inflation, workforce pressures, and investment decisions right now?
There is concern because of inflation. I don’t know the last time you went to the grocery store, but I just did, and I was surprised at the price of meat and nearly every food item. Think about it: If you’re making minimum wage, how do you provide for your family? If you’re making $70,000 and have three kids, it’s a really expensive proposition.
What we’re seeing is that clients need to be thinking about their staff because it’s really hard to replace loyal, dedicated employees. A lot of them have pushed up their wages by 30% and 40%, dipping into their profit margins, hoping it’ll bridge the gap until inflation comes back down. That’s unheard of in my economic career, but smart businessmen and women do that because it’s much more expensive to lose and replace good people.
They are also embracing growth through AI. It’s still uncertain how many people will lose jobs through the growth of AI, but just as I have changed careers within the legal profession, people will pivot. You may not be a computer IT person in the same way, but you’ll become an AI agent. There are opportunities. People just need to see them and embrace them.
What does the rise of AI mean for legal services and risk management?
With each advancement comes disruption and opportunity. I’m looking at the opportunities, and there are plenty. Lawyers are going to need to know more about technology-driven issues, ethics, and interactions and protection of data. We have terrific data lawyers because of the concentration on advising those who have suffered data breaches. It’s going to go beyond that.
When something defamatory is posted online, it’s not going to be just on one platform; it will likely be in many places. You need to be able to mobilize an experienced team quickly and address it across multiple platforms, and part of how well the team performs will be how well it employs AI.
You also need to think about authenticity. What videos can you believe? How do you know what is genuine? That question is going to affect business decision-making, legal risk, and how companies document and verify what they rely on.
How has your vision for the Miami office evolved as the city grows as a gateway to the Americas and international business?
Nine years ago, we started a Brazilian Desk here at Nelson Mullins. We now have six Brazilian lawyers in the Miami office, and that’s a big focus. Brazil’s a huge economic engine, with great ties to Miami and constantly growing. And they’re busy. Our Latin America desk has grown at the same time, including the Caribbean.
Because of my relationships in Mexico, we have a significant group that deals with our Mexican clients. Mexican clients have been coming here for 30 years, and many now have a significant presence. If not their headquarters, they’ve moved substantial numbers of their people here. We were aware of that a long time ago and have been addressing it.
We’ve built a significant international platform at Nelson Mullins with more than 100 lawyers supporting clients across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. This allows us to help clients with cross-border work in a much more integrated way.
Looking ahead, we’re also paying attention to emerging markets like India and thinking about where future growth may come from.
The question you have to ask is who is going to drive the next growth? India looks like it will. Will they be coming here? I don’t know, but it’s something I’m thinking about, and I’m going to be paying attention to it.
What are you seeing in other high-growth regions for the firm, outside of Florida?
Texas is big for us. We have grown our presence there by 120% in the last year. We’re talking to an AI company there that we may help do a couple of rounds of financing tied to the healthcare industry. We can plug them into our healthcare clients all over our map, but we’re going to focus on Florida and Texas because they’re two of the largest healthcare engines in the United States, if not the world.
