Stewart Kasner, a partner and chief financial officer at Baker McKenzie in Miami, has jumped to Holland & Knight.
The move comes on the heels of the departure of Roy Larson, Baker McKenzie's managing partner in Miami, who left for McDermott Will & Emery last week after 18 years at the firm.
Kasner, an international tax attorney whose private wealth clients include some of the wealthiest families in the world, had been at Baker McKenzie for 12 years. His work at Holland & Knight will continue to focus on assisting ultra-high net worth clients with tax planning, including pre-immigration tax planning. He said he expected the firm would be a better fit for his private wealth practice.
"I was interested in working in a main office of Holland & Knight, where I would get the support to service the foreign, ultra-high net worth private clients that I've serviced my entire career," Kasner said. "Holland & Knight was fully supportive of my practice area, being that it's the largest private wealth services firm in the United States."
Kasner said he and his longtime friend David Barkus, a Holland & Knight mergers and acquisitions partner who works with private equity, had talked about practicing together for years. Barkus was one of 10 corporate lawyers who left Greenberg Traurig for Holland & Knight last year, and Barkus encouraged Kasner to make the move as well.
Kasner said he was also eager for the opportunity to work with Christopher Boyett, co-chair of Holland & Knight's national private wealth practice, because of his reputation in the private wealth services sector.
At Baker McKenzie, meanwhile, Robert Moore has been named the new Miami managing partner and William Roppolo the new office financial officer.
Moore, an international tax lawyer who focuses on international tax planning for multinational corporations, has been with Baker McKenzie for 13 years. He also works on supply chain management, global reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, and tax planning for foreign investment in U.S. real estate.
Roppolo heads the litigation and government enforcement practice group in Baker McKenzie's Miami office.