Virtual data rooms for Miami deals, audits and legal matters

What sets Miami's economy apart

Compared with the United States as a whole, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro has an unusually large share of its businesses in transportation support services: 2,645 establishments, 2.0 times the national share. Next come wholesale agents and brokers (1,509 establishments, 1.6 times) and professional, scientific and technical services (40,122 establishments, 1.5 times). Of the 61 metros on these pages with published figures for transportation support services, Miami ranks 2nd, behind New Orleans, LA.

Port, freight-forwarding and logistics-services deals review customs records, terminal leases and carrier contracts.

Brokerage and agency businesses sell on the strength of their principal agreements and commission histories. In wholesale agents and brokers, Miami places 5th of 61 metros here; Birmingham, AL leads.

How Miami compares

The Census Bureau estimated the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro's population at 6,457,988 in July 2024, up 319,631 or 5.2 percent on the April 2020 base of 6,138,357.

Measured against the 2023 estimate of 6,334,517, the same year as the business count, Miami has 135.0 offices of lawyers per 100,000 residents, 1st of the 59 metro areas on these pages against a median of 52.6; the nearest rates are Cheyenne, WY at 130.6 and New Orleans, LA at 108.9.

The metro with the closest number of law offices is Chicago, IL, with 5,865; the metro closest in population, Washington, DC at 6,436,489 residents, has 3,508 law offices and 2,491 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll establishments.

Counted by accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms instead, Miami's nearest match is Dallas, TX, with 3,263.

• Residents, July 2024: 6,457,988
• Residents, April 2020 base: 6,138,357
• Change since 2020: +319,631 (5.2 percent), 17th of 59
• Law offices per 100,000 residents: 135.0, 1st of 59
• Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll per 100,000 residents: 86.0, 1st of 59
• Securities and investment per 100,000 residents: 55.4, 5th of 59
• Managing offices per 100,000 residents: 9.8, 56th of 59
• Real estate agents and brokers per 100,000 residents: 102.5, 4th of 59
• Employees in offices of lawyers: about 43,000
• Employees in accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll: about 27,000

The courts and regulators behind Miami paperwork

When a Miami dispute reaches federal court, it goes to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, whose Miami courthouse is the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U.S. Courthouse.

CPAs practicing in Florida are licensed by the Florida Board of Accountancy.

At state level, securities offerings and investment advisers in Florida answer to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Division of Securities, so a Miami fund raising money or an adviser facing an exam has documents to produce on request.

If personal information in a Miami deal, audit or case file is exposed, Florida's data breach notification law sets who has to be told and when.