Irene Bassel Frick serves as the managing partner of Akerman's Tampa office. A trial lawyer with experience in state and federal court, arbitrations, and administrative proceedings, Irene has a multifaceted litigation practice encompassing contractual disputes, class action defense, fiduciary duty claims, ERISA claims, business torts, and non-compete litigation.

In addition to her general commercial litigation experience, Irene has extensive class action experience in the context of contractual and commercial disputes as well as in the employee benefits practice area. Irene also has significant experience in employee benefits litigation in general, including ERISA litigation. Within the context of employee benefits, Irene litigates claims related to retirement income plans such as ESOP or profit-sharing plans and welfare plans, such as life, health, and disability plans. Irene also assists clients in enforcing and defending non-compete disputes in the context of commercial transactions. With regard to her representation of employer groups, Irene assists with the creation and preparation of health plans. She also counsels employers with employer-sponsored benefit plans on a variety of issues, from compliance with ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, and other federal regulations, to internal and external audits conducted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  

Active in the community, Irene is a past president of the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers and currently serves as an officer for the Hillsborough County Bar Foundation. Irene was a founding member of the Pearl Society, which provides civil legal assistance to low-income and disadvantaged clients in the Tampa Bay area through Bay Area Legal Services.