Vecchioli, who spent more than a decade as a regulator at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, will bolster the firm's Florida Government Advocacy Group and assist with its growing national clientele.

"I want to grow my practice and service clients not just in the insurance industry, but the financial services industry as well," Vecchioli said in an interview. She added that insurance regulation is somewhat uniform between states because the National Association of Insurance Commissioners "adopts model laws which other states adopt through their legislatures. The knowledge base carries through to other states; Holland & Knight has a long list of those clients I can provide service to."

Vecchioli continued by saying that Holland & Knight's national platform would allow her to help resolve regulatory issues on the national level.

"There are going to be some big insurance issues this year in Florida and at the federal level, including business interruption claims due to COVID," she said. "If we are able to come to some resolution on that issue, I think it's going to be a federal approach as opposed to states adopting their own approaches, so it excites me that I can work on that level and influence federal policy."

In addition to business interruption claims, regulatory questions may include how continuing care retirement communities should protect residents at their facilities and how auto insurers may be required to return premiums back to customers after a year of fewer car crashes, Vecchioli said.

Vecchioli's hiring demonstrates the 1,400-lawyer Tampa-founded firm's desire to expand its government and regulatory practices. Data compiled by OpenSecrets.org shows that Holland & Knight's lobbying operation has brought in more than $20 million this year, making it the fourth-highest earning lobbying firm in the country. Last year, the firm finished fifth overall, with more than $24 million in lobbying revenue.

The firm recently hired two attorneys to start a state Attorneys General practice in the Northeast. In September, Philadelphia attorney Jim Schultz arrived from Cozen O'Connor to work with the firm's Northeast Government Advocacy Team as a partner. And last month, Stephen Cobb, the former Virginia deputy AG, arrived at Holland & Knight as partner to join the firm's Public Policy and Regulation Practice Group in Washington D.C.

Together, the pair form the firm's State Attorneys General Team, which assists clients facing investigations or enforcements by state AGs.

"We needed to fill gaps where we had clients who needed additional expertise," Walker said. "We have state lobbying practices in Florida and Georgia, so that was the next logical step—growing the state lobbying practice, because we had a Philadelphia office but not a lobbying or government affairs practice there."

Since departing the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in 2003, Vecchioli has been a government consultant and policy adviser for two Florida Am Law 200 firms. She worked for Carlton Fields as a senior government consultant between 2003 and 2012, then moved to Holland & Knight to be a senior policy adviser before returning to Carlton Fields in 2017 to help lead the firm's government law and consulting practice.