Judge Carlos Rodriguez was born in Havana, Cuba and left when he was five years old after the Castro regime took over. His father, an airline pilot for Cubana airlines, recognized the implications of the regime’s early nationalization of the airlines and decided that the family should leave Cuba. At the time, families could only...
Vanessa Thomson has been an insurance defense attorney at the firm of Robinson, Pecaro, & Mier, P.A. since September 2019. There, she handles cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage disputes. Vanessa graduated from the University of Florida in 2011 and thereafter from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, summa cum...
Passionate about Flamenco dancing, a big fan of Salvador Dali’s artwork, and a lover of her mother’s gazpacho soup, Judge Kathleen McCarthy is immensely proud of her Spanish roots and the cultural fusion she was born into with an Irish American father and a Spanish mother. Her parents met in the late 1950s in Spain,...
Judge Izquierdo is a native Floridian, born and raised in Hialeah, Florida and is a first generation Cuban American. His mother came over on the “Pedro Pan” flights, separated from her parents. His father came to Florida “pre-Castro.” Judge Izquierdo attended Florida International University in Miami, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in...
Francis Viamontes has been a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida since June 2011 and is currently the Chief of the Violent Crimes and Narcotics Section in the Fort Lauderdale Office. Francis graduated from the University of Miami School of Law, cum laude, in 2002 and from the University of Miami School of...
Madeleine Mannello is a Senior Associate with the Winston Law Firm in Davie, and practices in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and criminal defense. She graduated cum laude from the University of Florida, and magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law. Ms. Mannello is an experienced trial...
Judge Alberto Ribas, Jr. is a first-generation Cuban-American who was born and raised in Miami, Florida. Both his sets of grandparents made the brave decision and great sacrifice of sending each of his parents to the United States to flee the Communist regime of Cuba. Judge Ribas graduated the University of Florida in 1991...
The Honorable Olga Levine is a native Floridian who was born in Orlando and was raised in South Florida. Her parents are both of Cuban descent. Judge Levine was the first member of her family to graduate from law school and received both her undergraduate and law degree from University of Florida. After being admitted...
Lorna E. Brown-Burton is an “AV” rated attorney who has practiced law since 1987. Her primary area of practice is Workers’ Compensation Defense. She also has experience in the area of Labor and Employment, Social Security Disability and Foreclosure Defense and practices in the area of Bankruptcy Law. Ms. Brown-Burton owned and operated her...
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...