Adam Rossen

Adam Rossen grew up loving “Law and Order” and hearing he was good at arguing, but he started college as a pre-med student at the University of Florida. Midway through his first year he switched course, knowing he wanted trial work. Law school frustrated him because it was all theory, so he became a certified legal intern at the Broward County State Attorney’s Office and tried five cases before graduating. “I was hooked,” he says. Waiting for a jury to return a verdict remains the biggest rush.

Adam points to relatability and teaching. A high school basketball coach for 10 years who won a state championship, he says he is good at breaking things down step by step and explaining the why, which helps him earn a jury’s trust. “They have to trust you and they have to believe that you’re genuine,” he says. He also credits adaptability: as a prosecutor facing an ultra-aggressive defense lawyer, he chose to be calm, slow and rational instead of matching that energy, and won.

Adam’s case began in 2018, when a client hired a company for hurricane repairs, called out shoddy work and barred its owner from his property. When the owner and his girlfriend climbed onto the roof, the client fired his gun and was arrested. Five years later the client had won the civil suit, and the criminal trial ended in a mistrial midway through cross-examination of the accuser; prosecutors then dropped everything. He had refused every plea. “I’m innocent and we’re going to go all the way,” he told Adam.

Adam’s closing thought is a tribute to his mentor Ben Glass, who told him years ago that a great lawyer has a moral and ethical obligation to grow his firm, because a solo practitioner must turn away cases and can only help so many people. That idea has stayed with him for seven or eight years and shapes how he and managing partner Manny Serra run Rossen Law Firm. “It’s about the impact that we’re having on our community, our people and our clients,” he says.

Rossen Law Firm is a criminal defense practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, handling DUI, state criminal and federal cases. Adam Rossen founded it in 2008 with a fellow former prosecutor after about a year and a half at the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. He says the switch to the defense side took him about two years to master. The firm has grown from four people in 2018 to roughly 20, with Manny Serra, a former player he coached in high school, as managing partner.

Adam Rossen has been named one of the “Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in Florida” by The National Trial Lawyers and “Best DUI Lawyer in Fort Lauderdale” by Avvo, and holds a “Superb” rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He is certified as a DUI defense specialist by the National College of DUI Defense. His results include a dismissed second DUI charge with a 0.19 breath test, dismissed attempted murder charges and a federal child pornography possession case in which mandatory prison time was avoided.

Adam Rossen started at the University of Florida as a pre-med student before turning to law. He earned his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 2006 and is a member of the Florida Bar. He also belongs to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and serves on the boards of the Broward County Bar Association and the South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Rossen Law Firm’s website is rossenlawfirm.com.