Vanessa Rousso

Vanessa Rousso is a Partner and Business Unit Leader at Kelley Kronenberg, focusing her practice on business litigation and consulting on complicated corporate, construction, healthcare, and real estate matters. Vanessa provides clients with forward-thinking counsel at the intersection of litigation, deal strategy, and business innovation. Her practice spans high-stakes commercial disputes, sophisticated transactional matters, and strategic advisory engagements for companies, developers, contractors, brokerage firms, entrepreneurs, and ultra-high net worth individuals.

Vanessa’s highly strategic legal approach was cultivated not only in the courtroom and boardroom—but also on the global stage as an internationally acclaimed professional poker player and media personality. With more than $4.5 million in tournament winnings and extensive global media experience, Vanessa brings a high-performance brand-aware decision-making framework to every matter she handles along with a proven ability to thrive in high-pressure, high-stakes environments.

Vanessa has extensive experience managing complicated matters through all phases of litigation and resolution. She has successfully represented multinational corporations, prominent developers, international brokerage firms, construction companies, condominium associations and board members, hospitals and medical centers, businesses, and ultra-high net worth individuals. Her practice encompasses complex business disputes, sophisticated breach of contract actions, Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA) claims, construction defect claims, real estate, contractor, and broker commission disputes, as well as defending high net worth individuals and their entities from attempts to pierce the corporate the veil through alter ego liability claims.

On the transactional side, Vanessa combines big-picture strategic vision with meticulous command of the nuances of her client’s businesses to devise innovative approaches to resolve sophisticated legal challenges in several industries. She brings extensive construction industry expertise, having personally negotiated, drafted, and reviewed hundreds of construction contracts while demonstrating intimate knowledge of AIA contracts and implementing wide-ranging risk-reduction strategies for her clients. Her practice extends to real estate development, where she has developed niche experience consulting with developers on condominium termination strategies and risks, complicated title issues, and various other real estate matters. In the healthcare sector, Vanessa has advised hospitals, medical providers, and laboratories on everything from employment-related disputes to regulatory compliance issues, dispute avoidance, and Medicare Advantage-related concerns through her general outside counsel services and representation in litigation, arbitration, and mediation. Beyond these specialized areas, Vanessa provides comprehensive legal counsel to businesses across industries, handling contract negotiations, corporate governance matters, risk management, and dispute resolution while working closely with executives and business owners to develop pragmatic legal solutions that align with their strategic objectives and protect their interests in an ever-changing regulatory landscape.

Vanessa earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Duke University, graduating cum laude, with studies focused on game theory and strategic decision-making. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.

Vanessa is fluent in French and proficient in Spanish.