Five Miami partners — including former Akerman president Robert Zinn — are decamping from Carlton Fields Jorden Burt to join Duane Morris.

The partners include Zinn, who will join Duane Morris's corporate tax group; William Rohrer, an international tax attorney and certified public accountant; Marsha Madorsky in the wealth planning group; Roger Goldman in the real estate group; and Anastasios Kastrinakis in the tax practice of its corporate practice group.

Zinn worked at Carlton Fields for nearly three years. Previously, he worked at Akerman for 17 years, working his way up to chief operating shareholder and president.

He previously owned Zinn Mazda in Perrine, which was destroyed in Hurricane Andrew. He also served as chief operating officer of the largest General Motors group in the Middle East and has held leadership positions with Warren Henry Automobiles and Craig Zinn Automotive Group. Zinn's clientele consists of U.S. and Middle Eastern automotive clients. He recently closed a deal on behalf of Saudi Arabian client Al Jomaih Auto Rental on a master franchising agreement with Enterprise Holdings Inc.

Although the partners practice in different areas, Zinn was the catalyst who put together the deal with Duane Morris, said Harvey Gurland, managing partner of Duane Morris' Miami and Boca Raton offices. With the additions, the firm will have 30 lawyers in Miami.

"Robert was instrumental in having this come about from his end," Gurland said. "His involvement in this is what led to having other lawyers become interested in Duane Morris. We thought this would be a great fit for us. They have synergies among themselves."

Zinn noted Duane Morris has offices in London and Oman, where he has automotive clients.

"They have more offices, both domestically and internationally," he added. "The offer was just too compelling to pass up."

Abbe Bunt, a headhunter with Bunt Legal Search of Hollywood, said the move makes sense.

"Carlton Fields is an excellent firm, but Duane Morris has a longer history of being a national firm as well as offering an international platform," she said. "Their footprint is deeper."

Until its merger with Jorden Burt two years ago, Carlton Fields was largely a Florida firm with no international offices.

Philadelphia-based Duane Morris has more than 750 attorneys in 27 offices around the world.

Rohrer's practice focuses on strategic tax planning for foreign and domestic clients, many of whom have cross-border tax issues. He represents multinational, public and closely held companies in the U.S. and abroad as well as foreign real estate funds, fund managers and developers that invest in the United States.

Madorsky has more than 25 years experience handling estate, trust and guardianship matters. She co-authored revisions to the seventh and eighth editions of the "Florida Guardianship Practice" and served as chair of the Florida Bar probate rules committee.

Goldman has extensive experience in the acquisition, financing, development and sale of assisted living facilities and also represents lenders and borrowers in mortgage and asset-based financing transactions, mortgage foreclosures and debt restructuring.

Kastrinakis advises individuals, corporations, family offices and investment funds on the structure and tax aspects of transactions, particularly inbound transactions. He also represents taxpayers undertaking voluntary disclosures under the Internal Revenue Service offshore voluntary disclosure program.

The lawyers plan to be in their new office by May 2.

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