Watson Sloane

Focus and the clients it names

Based in Orlando and Tampa, Florida, the firm handles business, corporate, real estate, international and tax matters. It describes itself as a boutique business law firm, which usually points to a smaller roster of lawyers who take direct roles on each file.

The client groups Watson Sloane names include entrepreneurs, real estate investors, developers and operators, emerging growth businesses, and middle-market companies. Those categories sit close together in practice, because a growing company often owns property, raises money and signs contracts at the same time. A firm that covers all three can keep the same lawyers on a matter as it moves between corporate, financing and real estate questions.

The industries the firm lists cover real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, distribution, professional services, defense and technology. Kristopher E. Fernandez names service in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps in his background, which fits the defense entry on that list. In my opinion, the industry list reads as a picture of the firm's client base, because each area maps to work the attorneys describe.

Corporate, finance and outside counsel

The corporate work covers business entity formation, mergers and acquisitions, capital transactions, governance, reorganizations and contracts. Entity formation is the starting point for many businesses, since the choice between a corporation, a limited liability company or a partnership shapes taxes, liability and control. Governance work then keeps that structure running through board decisions, ownership changes and shareholder or member agreements.

Mergers and acquisitions bring in due diligence, purchase agreements and closing steps, and reorganizations often carry tax questions that the firm's tax group can take on. Capital transactions and public finance both involve raising money, whether through private investment or public bond programs, and the firm lists experience on both. Watson Sloane also names commercial and corporate finance and international business transactions among its services, and Brian A. Watson's biography describes representing issuers, financial institutions, underwriters and investors.

The firm provides outside general counsel work, and Watson describes working alongside companies that already have in-house counsel. Such an arrangement usually means one firm handles routine contracts, governance questions and financing steps as they arise, without the cost of adding staff. For a middle-market company, that can be a practical way to reach corporate and finance advice on a regular basis.

Real estate, development and land use

Real estate is one of the firm's larger areas, and several of its lawyers work in it. That practice covers commercial and residential acquisitions and dispositions, commercial leasing, development and construction, title insurance, joint ventures and real estate finance.

Deals and financing

Acquisitions and dispositions are the purchase and sale side of the work, where title and survey review confirm what a buyer is getting. Title insurance protects against defects in that ownership record, and joint ventures set the terms when two or more parties develop or hold property together. Commercial leasing sets the terms between landlords and tenants, including rent, build-out responsibilities and renewal rights. Real estate finance ties these deals to the loans that fund them, which is where the firm's finance experience overlaps with its property work.

Land use, zoning and permitting

Watson Sloane also handles land use entitlements, permitting and zoning matters. Permitting and entitlement work generally moves through local planning staff and appointed or elected boards, and it often turns on site plans, environmental review and public hearings. Growth management law in Florida adds state and regional layers to that process, so a single approval can depend on more than one government body. Vivien J. Monaco's practice covers this ground, including growth management law, environmental issues and local government matters.

Estate planning and tax

The estate planning services include wills, trusts, health care surrogate designations, living wills and durable powers of attorney. A will directs how assets pass after death, while a trust can hold and manage property during life and after it. A health care surrogate designation and a living will speak to medical decisions, and a durable power of attorney lets a named person act on financial matters if someone cannot.

On the tax side, the firm covers federal and state tax planning and controversies, business entity taxation and tax-free reorganizations. Tax controversy work means representing a client in a dispute with a taxing authority, whether that is an audit or an administrative appeal. Business entity taxation connects back to the corporate group, since the way a company is formed drives how it is taxed. Tax-free reorganizations let a company restructure without an immediate tax bill when they meet the rules, which is one reason the corporate and tax groups work together.

How the team is built

The attorneys page names six lawyers, and their biographies set out clear practice groups. Jeremy S. Sloane is one of two founding partners, has nearly two decades of legal experience, and focuses on corporate law, taxation and international transactions. Brian A. Watson is a managing partner who works on corporate, finance and real estate matters, and he provides outside general counsel to companies while working with their in-house counsel.

Vivien J. Monaco is a partner in the firm's Finance, Government Relations, Land Use and Zoning, and Real Estate groups, and she assists clients with development permitting and other approvals. Keith R. Waters joined in 2023 as a partner in the Real Estate group, and he brings 35 years of experience with landowners, homebuilders, developers, lenders, and national and regional retail landlords and tenants. His work covers the acquisition, sale, leasing, financing and development of commercial and residential real estate.

Amanda Kessler works in the Real Estate and Corporate Finance groups, where she represents business owners, property owners and investors in commercial real estate acquisitions, development and leasing. Her tasks include deal structuring, contract preparation and negotiation, title and survey matters, and due diligence analysis. Kristopher E. Fernandez joined in 2023 after four years in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, graduated from the University of Florida College of Law, and holds Florida Bar board certification in real estate law.

What a prospective client can check

The firm lists an Orlando office and links to Facebook and LinkedIn in the data behind its site. As a reviewer, I found the attorney biographies the most useful part of the site, because each one names practice groups and, in several cases, years of experience or a board certification. Both offices sit in Florida, which matches the state and local nature of much of the land use and real estate work the firm describes.

The site does not list a founding year. The published pages name six lawyers, two offices in Orlando and Tampa, and practice groups across corporate, real estate, finance, land use, tax and estate planning work. Fernandez and Waters both joined in 2023, the most recent additions the site records.