MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
JONATHAN WASSERMAN
Jonathan Wasserman is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorney operating his own full-service criminal defense firm in West Palm Beach . He handles all levels of criminal cases in State and Federal Court .
Jonathan is a native Floridian . He was born in Miami and obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Miami . He ventured out of South Florida for law school , attending the University of Florida . After law school , Jonathan moved to Palm Beach County where he worked as a prosecutor for several years before ultimately opening up his solo practice in 2007 .
Growing up in Miami , Jonathan was always passionate about the ocean . He started snorkeling at a young age and attended Sea Camp in the Florida Keys while in elementary school . He started scuba diving at 17 years old . Jonathan ’ s love of the ocean and diving is what led him to Palm Beach County after law school . The waters in our area are known as some of the best in the state for divers .
While Jonathan has always loved the ocean and diving , he has really taken it up a notch in the last 15 years . During that time , he became certified as a rescue diver and as a divemaster . He is also connected with several local dive shops throughout Palm Beach County .
In addition to local diving , Jonathan ’ s dive group takes several international dive trips a year . Jonathan tries to do at least one of these trips a year . His next trip is to Indonesia in 2023 . He has taken dive trips to Cozumel , the Bahamas , Cayman Brac , and most recently to Cocos Island this past summer .
Cocos Island is an island in the Pacific Ocean owned by
Costa Rica . It is located about 340 miles off the Costa Rican mainland . The undeveloped and uninhabited island is made primarily of basalt , which is formed by cooling lava . Cocos Island diving is known for its populations of hammerhead sharks , tiger sharks , rays , dolphins , and other large marine species . It ’ s considered one of the “ sharkiest ” places in the world . Renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau called it “ the most beautiful island in the world ”.
Because of the distance to Cocos Island from the mainland , Jonathan and his group did what is called a “ liveaboard ” trip , meaning they had to live on their boat for the duration of the trip . The group travelled for a day and a half by boat to reach the island . After arriving , they did three dives a day for a week before making the return trip to the mainland . This was Jonathan ’ s third trip to Cocos Island and he ’ s already signed up to go back in 2024 .
The beautiful sights Jonathan sees on dives led him to the related hobby of underwater photography . Jonathan has always enjoyed taking pictures on his dives , but in 2015 bought his first underwater DSLR camera , which allows him to take professional quality pictures on his underwater adventures . The amazing underwater pictures included in this profile were all taken by Jonathan !
While Jonathan has been diving since long before he was a lawyer , he recognizes the benefit of diving to his life and his practice . He also appreciates the opportunity to meet people who he otherwise likely would not meet . He believes that all professionals should have a hobby or activity that can be used as an opportunity to unplug and de-stress . During the Cocos Island trip there was no WiFi , internet , or cell service which allows one to completely disconnect and fully enjoy the trip .
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WRITTEN BY : Nichole Segal