Welcome to another episode of First off, let's kill all the lawyers. Uttered in a Shakespeare line back in the 15th century, which kind of drew raucous applause. Still today sort of holds out when you bring that line-up, people kind of smirk or chuckle and think it's not a bad idea. I'm David Heffernan. I've been practicing personal injury law in Miami for almost three decades, and I'm an adjunct faculty at the University of Miami School of Law and their trial program. My goal behind putting this program together was to bring in other local South Florida lawyers. And maybe one by one, we can take a few of them off the list. My guest this morning, a guy that checks a lot of boxes for me. He's a good friend. He's a great lawyer. He is a Columbus High School grad. He's a University of Miami law school grad. He's an avid cyclist, we ride quite a bit together. So pretty good guy who gets a lot of things done. Welcome Domingo Rodriguez. Thank you, David. It's good to be here. Good. Good. All right. Well, let's talk because there's a lot of things that interest me about you. Your background is interesting. You came were born in Cuba, right? came over here. But you're true, you know, sort of Miami kid, right? That's true. Greg, I grew up literally blocks from where we're sitting today, and still live blocks where we're sitting today. So, you've kept your world small when it comes to Miami. Fair enough. But I was interested in looking so my family background is in the marine industry. And yet at the same time, you were doing things at South Miami hospital. So, we've sort of got healthcare provision and Marine, and you go to law school Why? Well, that's a good question. And it I made friends with a guy that I sold a boat to who was a very good lawyer that most people, at least in our world know a gentleman by the name of Stuart Grossman. And Stuart's very good friend of mine, right? So, Stuart, I had always I was always interested in law. But during the process of selling Stuart a boat, he mentioned, he said to me one day, Domingo, you know, you would be a good lawyer because you're a good salesman. And that's what we do as lawyers, we sell our case to a jury. So, Stuart, is he gave him, I was sort of leaning in that direction. But he kind of gave me the final push. Stuart can be very persuasive when he wants Oh, for sure. Oh, great guy, good firm Andy off is one of my closest friends been with him for forever. So I think very fondly of them. So it gets you into law school. And then I know, you come out of law school. You actually start in with a friend of mine, your former partner, john Aronson in the maritime field. Well, actually, I want to go back, this is what I wanted to talk to you about. You actually started with Stanley Rosenblatt. True. Okay. So I got to spend a few minutes on this just because I'm fascinated because I think, you know, again, anybody that's been around Miami, or in the legal community anywhere, know, Stanley Rosenblatt and what was it $145 billion verdict, you know, a first on behalf of the Air Flight attendants, and then Floridians and everything else. And of course, form the basis he took on tobacco companies and formed the basis of the whole angle progeny now that all of these tobacco cases go forward with that premise. But a little bit of a fascinating guy because a mom and pop shop, and the guy took it on big tobacco. Right. So tell me how you start with Stanley Rosenblatt? Well, it comes back to my tenure, if you will, as a law clerk with the firm that was formerly known as Spence, Payne, matching, and Grossman when I was in law school. And truth be told, when I was in law school, I wanted very badly to stay with that firm when I graduated, but the stars just didn't line up. In one day, JB Spence who's a senior guy at that firm is also very well known and recognized down the street from him. I'm very close friends with his son, John, I used to vacation with him all the time down at Ocean reef. There you go. JB was a fascinating, fascinating man. JB walks into the law clerks' room that the Old Firm one day and he says Domingo, I just had lunch with Stanley Rosenblatt and he's looking for an associate. So I told him about you. If you're anyone you know who he is? And I was, of course, I know who Stanley is. So he said he, I told him that if you were here, I'd send you over for an interview. So I went across the street, met with with Stanley and his then partner, Neil Roth, who ironically is now partners with Stuart Grossman, right, and they interviewed and hired me on the spot. And then I started working with them the next one day and I ended up about a year and a half working with Stanley and from there I his way My maritime career really started after I left Stanley, I went to work for a firm that doesn't exist anymore. But it was at the time it was called Hayden and Milliken and Coral Gables a very well known firm that focused on maritime law. And the reason I was attracted to ...
