In addition to serving in the Florida Legislature, Senator José Javier Rodríguez is a trial attorney. In 2018 he joined Sugarman & Susskind as partner where he has a diverse litigation practice and represents employees, labor unions and employee benefit funds. Prior to 2018 Senator Rodríguez 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 with Florida Legal Services where, until 2011, Senator Rodríguez litigated individual, complex and representative actions on behalf of low-wage workers, tenants, homeowner associations, small businesses and neighborhood-based organizations. From 2008-2010 Senator Rodríguez also taught as an Adjunct Clinical Professor with the Carlos A. Costa Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at Florida International University’s College of Law.

Senator 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.

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.