Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez's accomplishments in the field of law and in the community are extraordinary.

Few attorneys have the depth and breadth of experience that Rocky has, from extremely sophisticated and complex corporate matters to complicated public regulatory affairs and major international matters.

Trilingual (English, Spanish and French) and No. 1 in her class at the University of Miami School of Law, Rocky is known to have an abundance of intelligence, integrity and experience, and to be extremely hard-working and creative.

Rocky has reinvented herself as a lawyer several times — each time acquiring expertise in new areas that catapulted her to the next level. Leaving a secure partnership at Greenberg Traurig twice, she first ventured overseas to run an international law firm referral network and then heeded the call to serve as general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush.

Because of her willingness to take on new challenges, Rocky has mastered numerous areas of law while most lawyers usually stick to only one or two. She's represented clients in complex business disputes, cross-border litigation (some on behalf of foreign governments), high stakes election cases as well as in sophisticated regulatory matters, lobbying and government contracts.

She truly practices at the intersection of law, government and business.

When Cleveland-based law firm McDonald Hopkins decided to open its Miami office in 2011, the firm tapped Rocky to become its founding member. Currently, she serves as office managing member and on the firm's board of directors, together with other leadership positions on the innovation committee; culture, diversity and inclusion committee; and women's council. A full-service law firm founded nearly 90 years ago, McDonald Hopkins maintains offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, West Palm Beach, Chicago and Detroit.

Rocky's work has had lasting impact on Florida. While serving as general counsel from 2002 to 2007 for Bush, Rocky worked on many of the most pressing issues facing the state of Florida. One of her top accomplishments was to develop the structure for and negotiate the largest economic development project in state history, a $310 million economic incentive grant to the Scripps Research Institute.

The Scripps Florida deal lay the groundwork for hundreds of millions of dollars more in life science incentive agreements between Florida and other prominent research institutes, which she led at the behest of Bush.

Following her return to private practice, the world-renowned Max Planck Society retained Rocky to represent the center in establishment of its only scientific research institute outside Germany. With her guidance, Max Planck obtained nearly $200 million in state and local incentives to establish the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience in Jupiter.

The projects Rocky led have made Florida an important center for biomedical research, attracting prominent scientists, life science companies and investors to Florida.

A multi-talented attorney, Rocky also has represented presidential and gubernatorial campaigns in Florida and was a critical leader for Republican lawyers in Miami-Dade County during the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election and its 36-day recount. And during her time in Tallahassee, she advised Bush on over 200 judicial appointments.

Rocky developed many of the critical leadership skills she would later use during her first decade of practice. During that period, she followed the path of two of her mentors, Alan Dimond and Hilarie Bass, and devoted substantial time and energy to bar association work, including serving as president of the Dade County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and the chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division where, as the first Hispanic leader, her priorities were to enhance diversity and to provide business and leadership training for young lawyers.

Rocky's linguistic abilities and interest in international law took her to London in 1997 for a two-year sojourn as director of MULTILAW Multinational Association of Independent Law Firms. She grew the referral network's membership by 20% and established programs that led to many of its current successes.

She even found time in her international travels to qualify as an English solicitor.

If you ask Rocky what she's most proud of in her over 30 years of practice, she'll mention the 2000 election recount and representing several presidential and gubernatorial campaigns in Florida. But she'll cry tears of joy recounting her role in bringing to fruition Bush's vision of a Florida life science industry.

Committed to public service, Rocky is a member and former chair of the Third District Court of Appeal Nominating Commission. She is on the boards of BioFlorida, the Foundation for Florida's Future and Warriors at Ease and on the investment committee of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

Rocky speaks often and emotionally about her family's history. Her father, Roberto Rodriguez de Aragon, himself a lawyer, was one of the youngest members of Cuban National Congress. Her parents fled Fidel Castro's Cuba in 1959. In seeking freedom in America, Roberto, her mother Raquel and their families left everything behind and started a new life. This experience is the foundation of what drives Rocky.

Having lost their country, Rocky's parents inculcated in her the values of education, hard work and integrity — three things no dictator could take away. Her father's background and ongoing involvement in politics developed in Rocky a love for the political process and the debate of ideas. And her mom encouraged her to pursue a legal career.

I first met Rocky when she joined Greenberg Traurig as an associate in 1985 and I was managing the public finance department. I have watched her career for close to 35 years. I worked with Rocky in the 2000 recount. I got to work closely with Rocky once again when I served as Florida secretary of state in 2006.

I have witnessed her transformation from diligent commercial litigator to savvy counselor handling delicate legal and political issues. Rocky Rodriguez is a superb lawyer and a superb human being.

Sue M. Cobb served as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica from 2001 to 2005, Florida secretary of state from 2005 to 2007, Florida lottery secretary in 1999 and with Greenberg Traurig.