Alvarado, Smith & Sanchez Combines With Firm in Miami
By CHRIS CZIBORR
Irvine’s Alvarado, Smith & Sanchez has combined with Miami-based Adorno & Yoss, which bills itself as the nation’s largest minority-owned law firm.
The combined firm now goes by Adorno, Yoss, Alvarado & Smith in California. The Miami side of the partnership is keeping the Adorno & Yoss name.
“We had 20 attorneys and now we’re at 185,” said Ruben Smith, a principal at Alvarado, Smith & Sanchez and now at the combined firm.
The firms had been in talks for about six months, Smith said.
Big corporate clients are paring the number of law firms they’re using, Smith said as to why his firm sought a combination.
“This is a trend you see with the big firms,” he said. “The only way to compete for Fortune 500 business is to have multiple offices across the country.”
The Miami side brings an Atlanta office and six Florida offices. Smith’s firm brought Los Angeles and Orange County offices.
“We’re also in the process of merging with or acquiring other partners throughout the country to form the kind of national footprint we want,” Smith said.
The firm is looking to Mexico to form partnerships, Smith said. Officials are in talks with Mexico City-based Link International, he said. That firm counts 90 lawyers and 13 offices in Mexico’s major cities.
Smith said the Latin America connection was a big impetus behind the firm’s move to partner with a Miami law firm.
“Companies like Sprint, Chrysler and Ford do a lot of business in Latin America and have large operations there. That’s one of the reasons we looked at the Miami firm,” Smith said. “Miami is more of an international practice area than anywhere else in the country, at least in terms of Latin America.”
Adorno, Yoss, Alvarado & Smith specializes in banking, real estate, litigation, employment, corporate and public agency law. The firm also practices in global business, cross-border financings, transportation, environmental and bankruptcy law.
California Assemblyman Todd Spitzer is “of counsel” at the firm.
Adorno & Yoss plans to open new offices in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area and New York, as well as Mexico City and Santiago, Chile.
