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Our greatest strength is our ability to work together.
Karina D. Rodrigues
JUDGE OF THE MONTHThe Honorable David Haimes
The Honorable David A. Haimes was born and raised in South Florida. His mother, Ligia, was born and raised in Colombia, South America, and she came to the United States when she was in her 20’s. His father was born and raised in New York, and his paternal grandparents came to the United States from Russia and Romania. In 1960, his parents met in Miami, and they were later married at the Gesu Catholic Church in downtown Miami, and they raised their family in South Florida.
Judge Haimes graduated from Chaminade High School in Hollywood, Florida in 1983. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1987, where he studied accounting. Judge Haimes worked for Ernst & Young as an auditor for three years prior to returning to Notre Dame where he graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School. Judge Haimes’ mother became a naturalized citizen at the same time Judge Haimes was sworn in as an attorney in 1993.
Following his graduation from law school, Judge Haimes clerked for United States District Court Judge William J. Zloch (1993-95) and United States District Court Judge William P. Dimitrouleas (1998-99). He also worked as a Civil Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice Tax Division (1995-98), as an Assistant State Attorney (1999-2003) in Broward County, and as an Assistant United States Attorney (2003-2010) in the Southern District of Florida.
In 2010, Judge Haimes was appointed as a Circuit Court Judge in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He served in the Criminal Division for seven years before transferring to the Civil Division in 2017, where he is currently assigned.
Judge Haimes believes the mentoring of young lawyers is very important. He enjoys having law school interns every summer and keeping in contact with them during their careers. He also enjoys mentoring young attorneys, whether Assistant State Attorneys and Assistant Public Defenders who were previously assigned to his division, or young civil attorneys who currently practice before him on the civil bench.
Judge Haimes has been married to his wife, Dianne, for almost 30 years, and they have raised five children. He especially enjoys the large family gatherings with his extended family in South Florida, and his favorite dish is his Mom’s paella.
We are grateful for Judge Haimes’ commitment to the bench and this community!
MEMBER OF THE MONTHLorena Mastrarrigo
Lorena Mastrarrigo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to Florida as a child. She attended The University of Central Florida as a student-athlete. She graduated in 1996 with a major in Political Science and a minor in Psychology. Mrs. Mastrarrigo continued her education at the University of Miami, School of Law. In 1999, Mrs. Mastrarrigo received her Juris Doctorate.
Mrs. Mastrarrigo began her legal career at the Law Office of the Public Defender, where she concentrated on representing juveniles charged with crimes. Thereafter, Mrs. Mastrarrigo began defending indigent clients charged with felony cases. In 2003, Mrs. Mastrarrigo started a firm where she handled criminal defense cases and family law matters. Thereafter, Mrs. Mastrarrigo became an associate in Glantz & Glantz where once again she only concentrated in handling criminal defense cases of all levels.
In 2009, Mrs. Mastrarrigo returned to her passion in the public sector with the Law Office of the Public Defender. For many years, Mrs. Mastrarrigo has defended the criminally-charged clients whose primary language was Spanish. For the last three years, Mrs. Mastrarrigo has been training new hires and felony attorneys at the Law Office of the Public Defender. On September 1, 2017, Mrs. Mastrarrigo was promoted to Chief Assistant Public Defender in charge of training and recruiting.
Mrs. Mastrarrigo is currently an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad College of Law. Mrs. Mastrarrigo is a past President of the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association. She is also a past panel member to the 17th Judicial Circuit Professional Panel appointed by the Chief Judge. Mrs. Mastrarrigo currently serves on the Executive Board for The Hispanic Vote as its Secretary. Mrs. Mastrarrigo is also active in the Hispanic Lawyers Committee of the Broward County Bar Association and currently sits on the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee of the Florida Bar. Mrs. Mastrarrigo is the recipient of the 2017 Hispanic Women of Distinction Award.
Mrs. Mastrarrigo has been happily married for thirteen years this coming April and has two beautiful children: Mark who is almost 12 and Ava who is 8 years old.
We are very proud of all of Mrs. Mastrarrigo’s accomplishments and are honored to feature her as February’s Member of the Month!
by Nazarena Rosales Hauser, Historian
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