CORTES HODZ - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate at Cortes Hodz Family Law & Mediation
Angelica D. Roselló is an associate at Cortes Hodz Family Law & Mediation, P.A., working exclusively in the area of marital and family law. She is admitted to practice law in both Florida and Pennsylvania and has received training and certification in both mediation and collaborative practice.
Angelica received her B.A. in International Relations from Florida International University in 2006, and her J.D. from The Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law in 2010. In law school, Angelica was involved in several organizations, including acting as Vice-President for the Minority and Latino Law Student Associations. She also interned at the Centre County District Attorney's Office and was a research assistant to Professor Jill C. Engle. Upon graduating law school, Angelica was the Clinical Fellow at the Penn State Law, Family Law Clinic. After completing her fellowship, she accepted a position as a family law associate with the firm Engle & Engle, P.C. Angelica then served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable Thomas K. Kistler of the Centre County Court of Common Pleas for nearly two years.
In 2014, Angelica moved to Tampa, Florida with her family where she began practicing marital and family as an associate attorney in Hillsborough County. In addition to practicing law, she has taught legal writing as an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Florida and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Tampa in the area of family law. Angelica is a board member and secretary for the North Tampa Bar Association, a board member of Enterprising Latinas, a non-profit organization dedicated to economic empowerment of low-income Hispanic women in Tampa Bay, a member of the Executive Council of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, Marital & Family Law Section, a co-chair of the HCBA Marital and Family Law Section Pro Bono Committee, and an active member of the Stann W. Givens Family Law Inn of Court.
Lawrence was born in 1977 in Jacksonville, Florida where he lived until moving to Orlando, Florida to attend the University of Central Florida.
Lawrence received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Central Florida in 1998, graduating in just three years. Immediately after graduating, Lawrence attended law school and received his Juris Doctor from Florida State University College of Law in 2001.
Following law school, Lawrence moved to Tampa, Florida and practiced insurance defense in the area of workers compensation. In 2002, Lawrence joined a prestigious national law firm with its home office in Tampa, Florida. Initially, Lawrence was an associate working in the Immigration and Nationality Law Department and also did some work in the Personal Injury/Civil Litigation Department. While there, Lawrence began taking cases and representing clients in the area of Marital and Family Law. As his case load grew, Lawrence began the firm's Marital and Family Law Department and became a partner/shareholder with the firm before the age of 30. In 2010, Lawrence left the firm to join his wife Vivian in her practice, which was known as the Law Firm of Vivian Cortes Hodz, P.A. Upon Lawrence joining Vivian, the firm became known as Cortes Hodz Family Law & Mediation, P.A.
Lawrence continues to represent clients in the areas of marital and family law. Lawrence has represented clients from all walks of life from the unemployed to former and active professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, CEO's and business owners.
Lawrence has been recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine since 2015. This recognition and honor is bestowed on less than 2.5% of lawyers each year.
Lawrence is a member of the Florida Bar, the Stann W. Givens Family Law Inn of Court for which is sits on the organizations executive committee, and the Hillsborough County Bar association. Lawrence previously served as Vice President on the board of directors for Are You Safe, Inc., which is a non-profit organization assisting domestic violence victims in Hillsborough County. Lawrence also devotes significant time to his children's sports and extracurricular activities including coaching his son's travel baseball team, the Brandon Blazers.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Founding Partner of the Law Firm of Cortes Hodz Family Law
Vivian Cortes Hodz is the founding partner of the law firm of Cortes Hodz Family Law and Mediation, P.A. She has practiced exclusively family law her entire career with a focus on conflict resolution. Vivian began her career in public interest law as a staff attorney for Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. and after a few years, she transitioned into private practice working as an associate attorney for two small local family law firms. In 2008, Vivian opened her own law practice and has grown the practice, together with her husband and partner, Lawrence, into a well-established and respected law firm with three full-time attorneys on staff as well as five full-time staff employees as of October, 2019.
Vivian received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology in 1999 from Florida State University and her Juris Doctor in 2002 from Florida State University College of Law. Vivian met her husband and partner, Lawrence Hodz, while in law school at FSU. They are Seminoles and enjoy returning to Tallahassee during the Fall. Vivian and Lawrence combined their personal and professional lives in 2010 and work together as partners of Cortes Hodz Family Law & Mediation, P.A. As parents, professionals and business owners they bring a unique perspective to the practice of family law in that they understand the challenges that daily life can hold and they recognize the importance of balancing all aspects of personal and professional life.
Vivian was born in Tampa in 1978 to parents of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent. Her parents worked several jobs to provide Vivian with a strong educational foundation at Villa Madonna Catholic School. Vivian graduated from Bloomingdale High School in 1996 and still resides in Brandon with her family. Vivian is proud of her Hispanic heritage and strives to provide legal services in Spanish, both as an attorney and as a mediator, to Spanish speaking clients.
In addition to her family law litigation practice, Vivian is a Supreme Court Certified Family Law mediator and conducts mediations for other attorneys and pro se litigants either in her office or other locations within Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties. Vivian also is a Qualified Parent Coordinator and serves frequently as a volunteer and privately appointed Guardian ad Litem for children in family law cases.
Vivian has worked as an adjunct professor at Southwest Florida College and has presented on topics related to family law mediation and alternative dispute resolution during various continuing education seminars for the Florida Bar and the Hillsborough County Bar Association. Vivian has been recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine as a "Rising Star" in Family Law in 2015 and 2016 and a "Super Lawyer" every year since 2017. This recognition and honor are bestowed on less than 2.5% of lawyers each year. Vivian was also awarded the Leadership Excellence Award in Law by Hispanic Professional Women's Association in May 2013, the Florida Association of Women Lawyers 2017 Leaders in the Law Award, the Florida Bar Diversity and Inclusion Committee Outstanding Diversity Program Award on behalf of THBA, GEBA, and HCBA 2017 and the Luis "Tony" Cabassa Award in 2019 by the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association.
Vivian has been consistently and extensively involved in various local and statewide organizations and has held and currently sits in many leadership roles as listed below. Vivian loves being engaged and involved in the legal profession and enjoys mentoring young attorneys and aspiring bar association leaders.