Another law firm enters Gulf Coast

Another prominent Sarasota law firm has become the gateway for an out of state practice to enter Florida.

First it was Abel Band Chartered, the once-powerful firm that agreed last summer to become part of a larger Ohio-based practice with a minimal presence in the Sunshine State.

Now the Ruden McClosky name, in Sarasota and St. Petersburg at least, will go the way of Abel Band. The Fort Lauderdale-based firm, which just recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, is consolidating its Gulf Coast practice into its 25-lawyer Tampa office. The firm will be left with about 130 lawyers in nine Florida offices.