The first step towards a better tomorrow.
FAIRUZE SOFIA
Fairuze Sofia has lived in South Florida since she was in middle school and graduated from Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida. Following high school, she studied International Relations at Florida International University where she was inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society and graduated with high honors. While a student at FIU, Fairuze studied abroad in Paris at L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris taking courses entirely in French.
Fairuze attended law school at the University of Florida Levin College of Law in Gainesville, Florida. While in law school, Fairuze participated in the UF Honor Court first as a member of the Attorney General's Staff and then as the Chief Defense Counsel. She was also awarded the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship for advanced Portuguese language study. Following her second year of law school, Fairuze worked as a law clerk at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Office of the Chief Counsel in Cape Canaveral, Florida where she worked on everything from labor disputes to government contracts (and stood on the launchpad next to the shuttle!).
During her last year of law school, Fairuze earned the book award in her "Trial Practice" course. She was also a Certified Legal Intern at the Public Defender's Office in Gainesville, Florida. Following law school, Fairuze worked as an Assistant Public Defender in Broward County where she aggressively represented her clients at both the misdemeanor and felony levels. Following her time at the Public Defender's Office, Fairuze briefly worked for the immigration law firm of Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger, Tetzeli & Pratt.
Fairuze is Board Certified Expert in Criminal Trial Law and has tried more than 80 trials. Board Certification is a distinction held by only 7% of attorneys in Florida requiring additional testing, practical experience, judicial and peer review. She has experience in a wide variety of cases and specializes in the intersection of criminal law with immigration law. She has handled diverse immigration law cases in courts throughout the country and has won many cases that other attorneys thought were unwinnable.
Fairuze speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and French and has lived abroad in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Paris, France. In her spare time, she likes to travel and attend concerts.
BAR ADMISSIONS
State of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Eastern District of Virginia (pro hac vice)
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
EDUCATION
Juris Doctor, University of Florida Levin College of Law (cum laude), 2008
Bachelor of Arts, International Relations, Florida International University (magna cum laude), 2005