Russell Rosenthal is a native Floridian, and a 40-year member of The Florida Bar. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida in 1978 with high honors. He then received his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida law school in 1980. Mr. Rosenthal has been an Assistant Federal Defender in Fort Myers since 2002,  and has been the Division Supervisor of the Fort Myers Office since July 2019. Besides serving as an Assistant Federal Defender in the Middle District of Florida for 19 years, he is a member of the bar associations for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Mr. Rosenthal was in private practice based in Miami from 1986-2002. He practiced primarily in criminal defense in the Florida and federal courts. He served as an Assistant State Attorney in Dade County State Attorney's Office (now the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office) from 1981-1986. In addition to his practice on the trial level, Mr. Rosenthal has argued before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and  the Florida Second and Third District Courts of Appeal. He served on the Executive Committee of the Southwest Florida Federal Bar Association. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.