MIAMI -- October 29, 2015 -- In one of downtown Miami’s biggest moves in recent years, the Florida law firm Shutts & Bowen LLP has moved its Miami office across the street and up 25 floors to Miami’s Southeast Financial Center at 200 S. Biscayne Blvd.
Not only does the new office represent a striking departure in design from the quarters the firm has occupied since 1983 at the Miami Center at 201 S. Biscayne Blvd., it includes the most advanced features available in legal technology and contingency preparation, with a state-of-the-art conference center to connect with offices and clients all over the world. A key element in the planning was capturing the benefits of today’s technical infrastructure and making it fully scalable for the future.
The moved took almost three days to complete, starting on Friday, Oct. 23. This week, more than 200 attorneys and staff started working at the firm’s new offices on the 40th to 42nd floors of the Southeast Financial Center.
“This move has been in the works for two years and truly propels our firm into an exciting new chapter as an emerging new generation of firm leadership gradually moves into command,” said Bowman Brown, chair of Shutts & Bowen’s Executive Committee. “This move is a big step in the firm’s evolution. Our longevity and success are partly the result of staying ahead of the curve, anticipating the future and acting accordingly. We are here to set the pace for generations to come.”
Said firmwide managing partner 
Michael “Micky” Grindstaff: “This is part of a firmwide rebranding, reflecting our dedication to providing cutting-edge service to our clients around the world. Over the next year, we will take our IT and connectivity blueprint from our Miami office to all offices around the state, so that we can set a global standard for service from all seven of our offices.”
Said Francis E. “Frank” Rodriguez, Partner in Charge of the Miami office and Latin America Practice Group Leader: “The new office has a new look and a new attitude -- blending the new with the traditions that have made this firm a success. In preparing for this move, we aimed to tailor the space for our ever-evolving business and technology. Our new conference center is a centerpiece of this. Although all our offices are in Florida, we now handle clients and issues internationally, and our office is designed to keep us globally connected in all ways. Our firm is preparing for the next 20, 30, even another 100 years.”
Said Peter Abreu, Shutts & Bowen Chief Information Officer: “We have put in the latest and greatest technology available -- truly state-of-the-art -- with a multi-gigabit backbone that can accommodate technologies not yet available and position us for the future. Ten years ago, the firm was a pioneer in placing our IT in a data center to preserve and secure all our information. But in 33 years in this field, I have never seen a law firm take such care and planning to produce this kind of result as in this move. We have put a lot of effort into building a very robust solution for the firm that is equaled by the beauty of the views.”
Throughout this past weekend, movers from the national Beltmann Relocation Group transferred the office contents of 110 attorneys and more than 90 staffers to the new Miami headquarters, where the firm now occupies 69,155 square feet in a 15-year, full-service lease. James Hypes, of the interior and architectural firm ASD, headed up the design team. Amicon was the construction company executing the modern design.
Some things in the firm — e-mails, phone numbers, and web address — remain unchanged. The firm’s new headquarters includes a new version of the firm’s three-level spiral staircase, a signature of its previous offices at The Miami Center, consistent with the firm’s collaborative culture.
Towering 765 feet, the Financial Center opened in October 1984 and was named for its anchor tenant, Southeast Bank. It was certified LEED Gold in 2010.
“Since our founding in 1910, the world has turned over many times and old Miami institutions have come and gone,” Brown said. “We have always acted on the premise that a key to our firm’s success is to anticipate and even advance trends in our clients’ present and future interest. That is how we have been a prime mover in Miami’s emergence as an international business center. By keeping a global approach in mind, we are committed to be Florida’s law firm for the world and for the future.”
Shutts & Bowen was represented in the lease by David Preve of Cresa Partners, and Southeast Financial Center by Jones Lang LaSalle.
About Shutts & Bowen LLP
Shutts & Bowen, a full-service business law firm, has 110 of its more than 260 lawyers in its Miami office, with other locations in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
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