Big law

Carlton Fields, Tampa's largest law firm and a pillar of the area's legal establishment for more than a century, has embraced a popular paradigm of the legal business: size matters.

To that end, Carlton Fields and boutique law firm Jorden Burt announced in October they had struck a deal to merge. The firms completed the merger on New Year's Day and initially will operate under the name Carlton Fields Jorden Burt. Terms of the deal were not were not disclosed.

Although growth was the primary objective of the merger, it wasn't the only consideration in the carefully executed deal. A closer look shows the firms complement each other in size, style and expertise.