Klock noticeably absent from Steel Hector reunion

When more than 100 former Steel Hector & Davis alumni gathered for the first reunion of lawyers from the defunct firm, one was noticeably absent: Joseph Klock Jr.

Klock, who was blamed by many for the demise of the once venerable Miami law firm, was a no-show. One alum who attended said many of the guests openly wondered to the end of the event if he’d show. Some openly criticized their one-time leader during the get-together held over the weekend at the rooftop Cabana One Lounge & Pool Club at the Mayfair Hotel & Spa in Miami’s Coconut Grove.

Another alumnus who didn’t attend said there was a lot of speculation about whether Klock would show.

"I’m not surprised only because I know when Joe stepped down as managing partner in 2005, there wasn’t a lot of love lost," the alumnus said on condition of anonymity.

Klock was forced to step down as the firm’s finances soured. Many of the firm’s former partners blame international growth driven by Klock for Steel’s reversal of fortunes. The firm was eventually forced into a merger with Squire Sanders & Dempsey in 2005.

Klock left for Epstein Becker & Green in February 2007 and became a name partner this year at Rasco Klock Reininger Perez Ezquenazi Vigil & Nieto in Coral Gables.

Abbe Mald Bunt, who served as Steel Hector’s director of recruitment before becoming president of a Fort Lauderdale-based legal search firm bearing her name, said Klock was a major force within the firm.

"I spent 11 years there. There’s no one who didn’t know he was credited with building the firm," Mald Bunt said. "He brought me down 20 years ago from New York. Many people’s careers started under Joe Klock’s leadership at the firm."

Klock did not return a call for comment.

"I would say his absence was noted," Mald Bunt said. For the rest, she said, "There was so much love, hugging and kissing going around. This was like going to the family reunion you truly look forward to."

Comments

[Steel cast off]

abbe mald bunt is a scab. she fellated joe and was responsible for so many poor hiring decisions, because that important job was delegated to her in large part, and led to the decline in quility of assocaites starting in 1992 on .