Eric Rosen of Kelley Uustal in Fort Lauderdale. Courtesy photo

Kelley|Uustal partner Eric Rosen left the law firm to open his own shop after generating over $90 million in wrongful death and personal injury verdicts in under four years as the lead attorney.

Rosen Injury Attorneys in Fort Lauderdale will retain the same focus, including tobacco litigation, while adding noncatastrophic injury cases. He said he will serve as co-counsel with his former colleagues on cases in the coming months.

"They're very, very supportive. That law firm is like family to me," he said. "I think it's just a great time, and I'm really excited to build this."

He said he's interested in working with other plaintiffs attorneys looking for help getting cases to trial or looking for higher values in settlements or jury awards.

Rosen said he has no fear of leaving the firm after nearly 11 years and going it alone.

"You have to be aggressive. You have to have kind of a focused attitude. You put your blinders on and say, 'This is what i want to do,' " he said. " This is my next big project."

In court, he doesn't mind playing the underdog against veteran attorneys and large corporations, and points to his success in that role in trial and on appeal.

In his latest big case, Rosen and co-counsel Kimberly Wald brought home a $10.6 million award last July against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in the lung cancer death of a smoker who started at 31 and died within two years of her diagnosis. He also won $5.3 million and $2.2 million tobacco verdicts in 2017 as well as $23 million for a tree trimmer who suffered brain damage in an on-the-job fall.

The Nova Southeastern University law graduate and New Jersey native served as president of the Broward County Trial Lawyers Association in 2018-2019 and handled dozens of trials as a Broward assistant state attorney. He also has mentored everyone from younger attorneys in trial skills to high school students interested in the legal profession.

Kelley |Uustal's website lists 17 attorneys including Rosen.