Paulo R. Lima
Paulo R. Lima is a Florida Bar Board-Certified Specialist in appellate practice.
Paulo began his legal career in 2005 as a litigation associate in the New York City office of an AmLaw 100 law firm. During his 10 years at “BigLaw,” he represented primarily defendants in state and federal courts in a broad range of civil litigation that included products liability, securities, and general commercial cases. In 2009, Paulo came back home to Florida, transferring to the firm’s Miami office, where he continued to work on the same types of cases and began to take an interest in appellate work. While there, Paulo briefed cases to the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Eleventh Circuits.
In 2015, Paulo joined a boutique plaintiff’s personal injury firm in Miami, where he handled several multi-million dollar appeals and provided litigation support to the firm’s trial attorneys, primarily before Florida state trial and appellate courts.
Paulo joined the Russo Lima Appellate Firm, P.A. in 2017, where he has concentrated his practice entirely on appeals and litigation support. Paulo represents both plaintiffs and defendants. His plaintiff’s practice focuses on serious personal injury cases. He regularly represents seamen and passengers who have been injured aboard cruise ships in a variety of forums including arbitration, the U.S. District Courts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. On the defense side, Paulo regularly represents insurance companies in property and automobile liability cases.
Paulo has practiced before all five Florida District Courts of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court. He also has practiced before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Eleventh Circuits. Paulo is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, where he has prepared and filed petitions for writs of certiorari.
Before law school, Paulo worked for eight years as a reporter for two large daily newspapers in Florida and New Jersey.
The son of Brazilian immigrants, Paulo is fluent in Portuguese and proficient in Spanish. When he is not in the office, Paulo enjoys spending time outdoors in South Florida with his wife and their two young sons.
Education:
- Fordham University School of Law
- J.D. (cum laude), 2005
- New York, NY
- University of South Florida
- B.A. (cum laude), 1994
- Tampa, FL
Bar Admissions:
- Florida, 2009
- New York, 2005
Court Admissions:
- U.S. Supreme Court, 2018
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2012
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 2019
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2019
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 2011
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 2009
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 2009
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 2006
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, 2006
