About Gunster
History
A History Rooted in Florida’s Growth
The oldest commercial law firm in Palm Beach County, Gunster has always been a Florida firm, with roots that run deep and hold strong. Like the state itself, our firm has grown and changed while we’ve helped our clients prosper.
Founders and former name partners: (top row) David S. "Bud" Yoakley, Joseph F. Gunster, Marshall M. Criser; (bottom row) J. Kenneth Williamson, A. Obie Stewart, George William Hersey III
A singular Floridian of 1925
We began as a company of one. In 1925 John Kenneth Williamson opened his law office in West Palm Beach. He was the founding attorney for the First National Bank in Palm Beach, and became Florida’s first attorney to have an office on the island of Palm Beach. That was in 1942, the year a Harvard Law graduate named Joseph F. Gunster joined the firm.
Over the next 17 years four more principals would join—David S. (Bud) Yoakley in 1948, Marshall Criser in 1953, A. Obie Stewart in 1955, and George Hersey in 1959.
The growth of a full-service Florida firm
By 1975 the 15-lawyer firm was the largest in Palm Beach County; five years later the attorneys opened an office in Stuart.
Our firm’s growth in the 1980s mirrored that of the state’s: rapid and exponential. By 1985 the burgeoning 55-lawyer firm had to relocate to larger quarters in West Palm Beach, expanding them even further just two years later.
To serve the explosive growth in South Florida alone, our firm invited six attorneys from McCune Hiassen to join Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, and in 1990 opened an office in Fort Lauderdale.
Five years later a similar move occurred in Miami, where we combined our practice with the Miami firm of Valdes-Fauli, Bischoff, Kriss & Mandler. That same year, we opened our office in Vero Beach.
H. William Perry
A firm for Florida in the 21st century
We have continued to expand, establishing offices in two key parts of North Florida, Jacksonville and Tallahassee, the state capital. Our attorneys and staff now number more than 300.
Today, Gunster is a vibrant, forward-thinking firm with its finger on the pulse of Florida's business climate. Our approach to servicing clients is collegial and highly collaborative. Fourteen practices address the many facets of business: Banking and Financial Services; Business Litigation; Corporate; Environmental and Land Use; Immigration; International; Labor and Employment; Leisure and Resorts; Private Wealth Services; Probate, Trust and Guardianship Litigation; Real Estate; Securities; Tax; and Technology and Entrepreneurial Companies.
Like Florida and like our firm, there is nothing static about these practices. They are fluid, cross resourcing to provide cutting edge and practical solutions.
From that singular Floridian, Gunster has grown, expanded, diversified and multiplied—but always with a singular focus: Florida, and our clients' stake in it.