Abel Band law firm folds into Shumaker

One of Sarasota's most high-profile law firms, practicing everything from trademark secret cases to condo law disputes, is being blended in to a larger Ohio-based firm.

Sarasota-based Abel Band Chartered is now part of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, a 180-attorney firm with offices spread across three states, including one in Tampa and larger ones in Charlotte, and Toledo and Columbus, Ohio.

Attorneys and officials at both firms say the arrangement isn't a merger or an acquisition, but instead an agreement for the Abel Band attorneys and employees to be folded into Shumaker. There was no financial end to the deal, says Ben Hanan, a 13-year Abel Band attorney who will become managing partner of the Sarasota Shumaker office Aug. 1.