About

– Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney –

Valentin (“Val”) Rodriguez is a native of West Palm Beach, Florida.  He was educated in Palm Beach County public schools, and received a bachelor of arts honors degree cum laude in Government from Harvard University in 1991.  He received a law degree from the University of Miami in 1994.  He has practiced law in Florida since 1994, first serving with a law firm focused on civil rights cases.  He is a member of the Florida Bar, all federal court bars in Florida, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals based in Atlanta, and the United States Supreme Court.  He has been board certified by the Florida Bar in the area of Criminal Trial Law since 2009.

Val wrote his senior college thesis on the implementation of the death penalty in Palm Beach County during the 1980s. He worked for several years with the local Public Defender’s Office helping write policy and organize programs for indigent persons, while he studied at Harvard. He worked his way through law school with a local civil rights firm.    Val entered into his own law practice in 1996, and has a clear record of public service and success in both civil and criminal cases, at both the state and federal levels, and for appeals at all levels.  Val handles all types of civil cases as well, including civil rights cases, contract disputes, construction lien litigation, and representation of organizations and small businesses in all sorts of disputes.

Val has completed over 100 jury trials in state and federal courts, and has represented over 350 persons charged with serious federal crimes.  He also handles appeals at all levels.  He has argued in front of the Florida Supreme Court, having won an important appeal relating to the Confrontation Clause, and has argued in federal courts in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals based in Atlanta, having recently won a sentencing victory regarding the Armed Career Criminal Act and its application to certain federal crimes. 

Val is in the process of  finishing his book detailing 12 of his most significant cases involving constitutional rights.  He handles both civil and criminal cases, whether complex or simple.  He also has significant experience handling appeals at the federal and state levels, and has obtained numerous published opinions on significant civil and criminal legal issues.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Currently, Val is a member of several community organizations, and is currently a councilman and the  former Mayor of the Town of Lake Clarke Shores.  He is serving his 9th term as a councilman (and four previous terms as Mayor) in this small lake front community of 3,600 residents in Palm Beach County. He also trains law enforcement officers at the police department, and is active in community events. He serves on numerous appointed committees in the federal court system of the Southern District of Florida.

FAMILY

Val is married to Marti, his wife of  over 31 years whom he met in high school, and raised four girls and one boy in Lake Clarke Shores, and enjoys tennis and golf.

Please read further about details on his Achievements and Notable  Federal, State and Civil Rights Cases over the last decade.