Bankruptcy, family and real estate lawyer Joanne Hernandez is the Miami-Dade County Court’s newest Judge, courtesy of an appointment by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis just tapped Hernandez — the longtime managing partner of Miami Law Center PA, which she owns, operates and is the sole practitioner of — to replace Judge Jennifer Hochstadt Azar, who resigned in March.
Hernandez, a 43-year-old Republican, according to state records, was one of six nominees the Judicial Nominating Commission for the 11th Judicial Circuit recommended for the job in April.
She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2009 after earning her Juris Doctor from Florida International University.
Her member profile with the Bar says she’s fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
She was selected as a “Rising Star” for 2016-2019 by Super Lawyers, a designation that takes into account peer recognition, professional achievement in legal practice, and “other cogent factors.”
Last year, she was among six finalists in consideration to succeed then-Judge Carlos Gamez on the Miami-Dade Court.
Azar told DeSantis in a Feb. 21 letter that she planned to resign March 28. She called serving as a county court Judge “the honor of a lifetime.”
“I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve my community and uphold the rule of law,” she wrote. “At this time, however, personal reasons require me to step away from this position.”
After leaving the bench, where she served for roughly a year following an appointment by DeSantis, Azar returned to her prior job as an Assistant Miami-Dade Attorney, a role in which she defends the county and its employees in federal civil rights cases.
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