By Erin Geiger Smith 

NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - New York-based plaintiffs' firm Morelli Ratner has joined forces with Florida lawyer Jeremy Alters to form an approximately 25-person law firm with a specialty in class action litigation.

In addition to maintaining their offices in New York and Miami, the firm -- now called Morelli, Alters, Ratner -- plans to open an office in Washington in early 2013.

Alters is best known for representing plaintiffs in lawsuits claiming that banks charged excessive overdraft fees. One of the banks, Bank of America, settled that case for $410 million in 2011.

Morelli Ratner has represented plaintiffs in several high-profile pharmaceutical cases, including the Vioxx litigation against Merck. The firm also has represented plaintiffs in employment-related claims.

In the past few years, Morelli Ratner and Jeremy Alters worked together on several cases, including representing approximately 500 individuals and businesses claiming to have suffered damages from the BP oil spill, said name partner Benedict Morelli.

The two firms decided to merge to increase the size and type of cases their firms could handle, as well as their geographical reach, Morelli said.

In 2011, the Florida bar suspended Alters' law license over misappropriation of client funds, but in January 2012 the Florida Supreme Court found the suspension was unjustified.

Alters was also sued in 2011 by Argentine law firms claiming the idea for the overdraft-fees suits was theirs. He has settled one case, and another case remains.

Morelli said that he knew the details of both the temporary suspension and the lawsuits and neither situation concerned him.

Alters was not immediately available to comment on his suspension and reinstatement or on the Argentine lawsuits.

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