It’s Monday – 4:15 AM – are you up? Michael Wermuth is not only up – he’s swimming! Three days a week he takes his 14 year old son to swimming practice and as a natural progression to his athletic roots he’s in the pool himself.
He swam and played tennis in high school and became part of the University of Florida’s swim team— twice, but that part of the story comes later. Michael has a diverse background that enriches his personal life, as well as his professional perspective.
Michael’s childhood included moving around because of his dad’s career as a military man then a pilot with Delta Airlines. They fi nally settled in Tampa where Michael fi nished high school. After graduation, college rolled around and this is where the story begins to develop interesting facets.
How many attorneys do you know who dropped out of college to pursue an acting career? Here’s how it went down…
While attending the University of Florida, Michael decided to try out as a walk on to the swim team and pledged a fraternity; Sigma Chi. As he tells the story, one rough morning in practice the coach was doing what coaches do, and something just clicked off. He got out of the pool and told the coach “this just isn’t for me,” and walked away. During his senior year in college, he convinced his father (as in free ticket) to get him a plane ticket to L.A. just for the summer. What his father didn’t know was that Michael wanted to throw his hat into the acting ring. When summer ended and the time came to return to college, he told his father the news. His military disciplined father was not thrilled and soon Michael received a package of fi nancial obligations that were now Michael’s responsibilities instead of Dad’s. Fast forward sometime, (as in did not become an instant movie star) and Michael decided to return and fi nish college. Dad was a bit skeptical on his return into the fold, but waited for the outcome. Once back at the University of Florida, Michael made amends with the swim coach and returned to the pool.
Soon after finishing his undergrad, Michael pursed a Master’s and Law degree also at UF. During this time Michael met his future wife, Astrid – it was love at fi rst sight, and after just three weeks of dating, Michael proposed marriage. They were married approximately 8-9 months later. After graduation, the fi rst stumbling block occurred. His wife had been studying in the USA on a scholarship and student visa and they assumed that once married she would be able to automatically stay in the country. That fact was true – IF – she refunded her scholarship money. But, another option opened up: moving back to his wife’s country of birth, Venezuela.
For three years, Michael and Astrid lived in Venezuela. While living there, he practiced general law as an attorney with the fi rm Baker and McKenzie. His career also led him to the position of Director of Legal and Business Affairs of Sky Latin America. Once the opportunity came to move back to the States, he moved his family to Doral and became part of the community. He and Astrid have added two sons to the family – 14 and 11 years of age. In 2001, he opened his own practice that focused on trademark, copyrights, and transactional licensing of intellectual property. Fate stepped in when he met Ricardo Gonzalez around 2004. They became friends and realized there was potential for a great partnership. In August 2007, after 2 1/2 years of talks, they opened Gonzalez & Wermuth P.L., Attorneys at Law. Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez is Of Counsel with the firm.
Michael Wermuth walks the walk and talks the talk. From an inspiring actor he found his niche – as an attorney, partner, son, husband, father, athlete, litigator and soon to be Chairman of the Doral Business Council.
