West Palm Beach, Fla. (February 4, 2013) — Gunster, one of Florida’s oldest and largest business law firms, announces an expansion into the Orlando area with the addition of four attorneys and government consultants to establish the firm’s eleventh statewide office. The newest Gunster office is located downtown and opens with Tico Perez, Derek Bruce, Jeff Jonasen and Don Madden as the firm's most recent hires. This addition further solidifies Gunster’s statewide footprint and strategically places the firm in every major commercial market in Florida.

“Orlando has been a key piece to Gunster's statewide strategy as we implement our vision to be Florida’s law firm for business,” said H. William Perry, Gunster’s managing shareholder. “This is an ideal opportunity to introduce our full-service firm into the Orlando market by joining with a team which brings a balance of diverse clients and strong community involvement. This expansion solidly places us at the crossroads for business in Florida and provides our clients with better statewide coverage.”

The attorneys and consultants are joining Gunster from Perez, Bruce & Jonasen, LLP, an Orlando-based law firm which represents clients in major industry sectors including manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, healthcare and waste management. The group also operates Edge Public Affairs, a public policy consulting firm affiliated with the Perez, Bruce & Jonasen firm in Orlando. As part of Gunster's newest office, the team will continue to serve clients based primarily in central Florida, as well as private sector and not-for-profit entities from across Florida and out of state. The areas of focus in the Orlando office will initially be Government Affairs, as well as Corporate and Land Use law.

Tico Perez is a shareholder concentrating his practice on Government Affairs and Corporate law. Perez represents clients before state legislative, executive and regulatory bodies in matters ranging from procurement to policy development to issue advocacy. His corporate legal work includes real estate transaction, securities offerings, financings and other business transactions. He is an AV rated attorney and has been recognized by the Orlando Sentinel as one of the 10 most influential people in Central Florida and by Ahora magazine as one of the 25 most influential Hispanics. He is past President of the Orlando Utilities Commission and Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce. He recently completed a seven-year term on the Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida and is on the National Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America. Perez is a political analyst for the local Orlando NBC affiliate, is a political commentator on the nationally syndicated Daily Buzz, and hosts his own political talk radio show.

Derek Bruce is a shareholder concentrating his practice in Government Affairs and Land Use law. Bruce has represented clients in land use, procurement and regulatory matters in front of cities and counties throughout Central Florida. He is also an advocate for Florida businesses before the legislative and executive branches of state government. Bruce is an AV rated attorney and is past-chair of BusinessForce, Florida’s largest regional political action committee, and the East Central Florida Regional Leadership Council for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Kidney Foundation, Leadership Florida, Randy Roberts Foundation and the Community Foundation of Central Florida.

Jeff Jonasen is a shareholder focusing his practice on Corporate law and Government Affairs. He has more than 20 years of experience handling acquisitions, joint ventures, securities offerings, financings and other domestic and international business transactions. He has also appeared as an advocate before local government task forces, council and commissions, state agencies, legislative committees and other elected officials. Jonasen is an AV rated attorney and currently serves as the immediate past Chair and on the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Partnership. He is also a director and past chair of BusinessForce, a director and past President of the University of Florida Alumni Association, and a director and past President of the Central Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He also serves on the national council of the Boy Scouts and as a member of its Southern Region Executive Board.

Don Madden is a Government Affairs Consultant. He has held high level positions in the private sector including President and COO of a successful banking software consulting firm; and co-owner of Liskin, Madden & Associates, where he was a pioneer in the interactive media field. He managed all aspects of media and community relations, in English and Spanish, for Osceola County as their Chief Public Information officer; and most recently was a founding partner (with Tico Perez) of Más Communications, a Hispanic focused consulting firm, and worked as a Government Affairs Consultant with Edge Public Affairs LLC since its inception.