José Javier Rodríguez joined Sugarman Susskind Braswell & Herrera as partner in 2018. He has a diverse litigation practice and represents employees in individual, collective and class actions as well as labor unions and employee benefit funds. Prior to 2018 José Javier represented individuals in complex litigation related to business and commercial disputes, dangerous and defective products, financial misconduct, employment and personal injury matters as a trial attorney with Kelley Uustal. He began his legal career in 2006, however, with Florida Legal Services. From 2006 until 2011, José Javier litigated individual, complex and representative actions on behalf of low-wage workers, tenants, homeowner associations, small businesses and neighborhood-based organizations.
José Javier has also served as a law professor. He is a member of the adjunct faculty for Florida Constitutional Law at St. Thomas University School of Law. From 2008-2010 he taught, as an adjunct clinical professor, at the Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at Florida International University’s College of Law.
In addition, José Javier Rodríguez has served in the Florida Legislature since 2012 when he was elected to serve District 112 in the Florida House (Miami, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne). Since 2016 he has served District 37 in the Florida Legislature, representing much of Miami-Dade County’s residents in the Florida Legislature. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work. He is currently vice-chair of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee and also serves as a committee member for Rules, Ethics & Elections and appropriations for agriculture and the environment.*
Prior to attending law school, Senator Rodríguez served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal from 2000-2003, first as a business advising volunteer and then as an advisor to Senegal’s Ministry of Labor. Along with his wife and two young sons, he lives in the City of Miami.