Rene Palomino

Rene Palomino Jr. worked as a criminal defense attorney for Essen & Essen P. A. immediately upon graduation from law school, until he established his own law firm in 1987. In 2008 he joined the Office of Regional Counsel where he defended indigent defendants charged with very serious crimes. Mr. Palomino joined the Hillsborough County Public Defenders in July 2017, where he presently works as an assistant public defender. During more than 34 years practicing law, he has handled over 3,200 cases in state court and approximately 200 cases in federal court. Throughout his career he has also been involved in civil litigation. He obtained multi-million dollar verdicts, including a jury verdict for $253 million against Fidel Castro and the Republic of Cuba. Mr. Palomino was admitted to The Florida bar in 1983, and he is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the American Bar Association. He was born in Havana, Cuba in 1959 and arrived in Miami, Florida, in 1962, where he was raised. After obtaining a degree in Business Administration, with honors, in 1980 from the University of Miami, he enrolled at Nova Southeastern School of Law where he obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 1983.