Phillip J. Brutus has been practicing attorney in the city of Miami for the past 18 years. He specializes in personal injury, medical malpractice, immigration, and real estate law. Brutus was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He attended high school in Brooklyn, New York. In 1982, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts, and a law degree from Suffolk University School of Law in 1985.

In 1992, Brutus received the prestigious NAACP Freedom Award for his participation in a twenty-one day hunger strike to protest the U.S. decision to allow Cuban refugees into the country while turning their backs on Haitians. President Bill Clinton appointed Brutus to the Summit of the Americas Steering Committee in 1994. The summit was attended by the heads of state from every Caribbean, South and Central American country.

Brutus is a member of numerous associations, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Florida Bar. He is licensed to practice before the U.S. Court of International Trade; and is also a member of the Federal Trial Lawyers Association, the Academy of Florida Trail Lawyers, and the National Academy of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He has served as Associate General Counsel for the NAACP, where he handled pro bono cases.

In November of 2000, Brutus became the first Haitian-American elected to the Florida Legislature. His House District 108 includes northern Miami, with a portion of the Little Haiti neighborhood, the adjacent villages of El Portal, Miami Shores, Biscayne Park, North Miami, parts of Liberty City, and unincorporated Miami-Dade County. In 2002, he ran a highly contested election against an African-American Republican and won with an astonishing 82% of the vote.

Brutus currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Claims Committee and is a member of the Economic Development, Trade & Banking Committee, and Transportation Committee. Phillip Brutus has three children, Akeem, Malaika and Karamie.