Rory G. Safir

My path to becoming a trial lawyer began far from Florida courtrooms. Before practicing law, I traveled extensively and worked in legal systems outside the United States. I worked at an international war crimes tribunal in The Hague, earned a master’s degree in Madrid, and spent time volunteering in Medellín, Colombia. Those experiences shaped how I understand justice systems and the people caught inside them. One of the most formative periods came in Alice Springs, Australia. There, I clerked in the Outback and traveled village to village by bush plane with a judge. I saw Aboriginal communities navigating a criminal justice system that often failed to understand them. Watching marginalized people face powerful institutions with limited representation made clear where advocacy matters most. It is about restoring balance when the system is stacked against individuals. Along the way, I lived out of a backpack, learned Spanish, and traveled through Southeast Asia. I scuba dived, surfed, and climbed volcanoes. More importantly, I learned how to listen to people from very different walks of life. Building trust across cultures and circumstances is a skill that still defines my work today. Earlier in my career, before building my practice in Florida, I worked at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, part of a long-held belief that a lawyer should be woven into the community he serves rather than standing apart from it. I later cut my teeth trying cases as a public defender in Florida. That experience showed me what happens when real people are placed up against the full force of the government, with their freedom, licenses, and livelihoods at stake.