Phillip Arroyo

Phillip Arroyo is a criminal defense trial attorney in Florida. He holds a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from Florida A&M College of Law and was selected to serve in the 2012 White House Internship where he worked within the office of the Vice President of the United States analyzing domestic and economic issues.

In 2019, Arroyo was recruited to the Appellate Division of the Office of the Public Defender for the 7th Judicial Circuit of Florida. This office represents the indigent with their criminal appeals within Florida's 5th District Court of Appeals which handles all criminal appeals for the the 5th Judicial Circuit, the 7th Judicial Circuit, the 9th Judicial Circuit, the 10th judicial circuit and the 18th Judicial Circuit. Mr. Arroyo authored over 12 appellate briefs and obtained reversals for his clients. After his time handling criminal appeals, he served within the trial divisions of Volusia County and Seminole County where he handled thousands of cases from arrest to jury trial and gained extensive experience handling both felonies and misdemeanors throughout his career. During his time at the 18th judicial circuit, Arroyo was assigned as lead defense counsel to represent defendants before the Veterans Court, a diversionary program for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces accused of crimes due to substance abuse and mental health issues such as PTSD.

In April of 2021, Mr. Arroyo was appointed by the President of the Florida Bar to the Committee on Governmental and Public Policy and the the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and remains an active contributing member of the Florida Bar and the legal profession in Florida.

Arroyo is originally from the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico where he served as Special Assistant to the island's Democratic Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 and he was also appointed by the Republican Governor of Puerto Rico to the island's Advisory Board on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in 2009. He was also appointed to the Puerto Rico Interagency Committee on Illegal Gun Trafficking by the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico in 2010. He is on record at the United Nations where he has testified on multiple occasions in regard to Puerto Rico's political status with the United States.

He enjoys a simple life in Central Florida with his wife Josephine an environmental attorney and professor at Rollins College and their dog Oliver.