Albritton collars new practice at Phelps Dunbar

Now it can be told: Former U.S. Attorney Brian Albritton has joined the Tampa office of Phelps Dunbar LLP as a partner and will join the firm's regional white-collar crime practice.

It wasn't any huge secret that Albritton was leaving to go into private practice, but he says U.S. Department of Justice regulations forbid him from disclosing the name of the firm until he left his previous post. He took four weeks off for vacation and to help take care of some family matters before formally joining Phelps Dunbar earlier this week, he says.

Besides already having a few friends at Phelps Dunbar, Albritton says he was drawn to the New Orleans-based firm because it presents a unique opportunity to establish a regional white-collar practice, rather than one limited to a single law office.

“Our plan is to formally develop a white-collar practice for the firm as a whole,” Albritton tells Coffee Talk. He says he will be working with other fellow former federal prosecutors in the new practice who are familiar with the thinking that goes into investigations.

Albritton was U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida for the last two years after spending 18 years as an equity partner at Holland & Knight. He was instrumental in establishing the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Tampa and worked to resolve a major case against WellCare Health Plans Inc. last year.