Rob practices construction law and commercial litigation throughout the state of Florida. Rob also comes to the firm with an extensive background in property insurance litigation and general commercial litigation. He most recently served as a partner at The Rock Law Group, where he defended insurers from first-party commercial and residential real property claims, from pre-suit investigation and appraisals through trial-level resolution, appeals, and post-judgment attorneys’ fee disputes. He has obtained multiple orders awarding summary judgment and dismissal with prejudice and successfully defended those orders in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Rob previously worked for thirteen years for the Orlando offices of Holland & Knight and Akerman Senterfitt, where he specialized in media law and defended a variety of commercial litigation matters at the trial and appellate levels, including actions involving real estate disputes, business disputes, debt collection, defamation, and violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Rob is also a longtime Associate Board member for Florida Citrus Sports and a longtime Board Member for the Central Florida Gator Club, which he served as President from 2014 through 2016 and for which he won awards for his service, including Large In-State Gator Club of the Year. Rob is also a longtime season ticket holder for University of Florida football and a bowl scout for Florida Citrus Sports and has attended more than 150 SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC college football games. Rob is also an avid hiker and backpacker and an ASA 101 certified sailor.
Professional Experience
- Florida State University Law Review, 2001-2003
- Articles Editor, 2002-2003
- Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law, 2001-2003
- Florida Citrus Sports, Associate Board of Directors, 2012-present
- Volunteer of the Year, 2015
- Central Florida Gator Club, Board of Directors, 2010- present
- President, 2014-2016
- Regional Director Award, 2016
- “Florida Appellate Court Reverses Verdict Against Valve Manufacturer in Asbestos Case,” Holland & Knight Alert, Oct. 5, 2016
- “Ninth Circuit Court Affirms Yelp’s CDA Immunity for a User’s Negative Review,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, Sept. 2016
- “Florida Appellate Court Unseals Court Records in Hulk Hogan v. Gawker,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, Apr. 2016
- “Fla. High Court Rejects Common Law ‘Good Faith’ Exception to Fee Shifting Provision of Public Records Act,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, Apr. 2016
- “First Circuit: CDA Bars Action Claiming Websites Facilitated Sex Trafficking,” Holland & Knight Alert, Mar. 18, 2016
- “Florida Appellate Court Reverses Order Compelling Economic Development Commission to Disclose Records,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, Nov. 2015
- “The Love-Hate Relationship with Social Media: Maximize Opportunities Without Maximizing Risk” (co-author), Corporate Law Advisory, Sept. 4, 2015
- “Three Federal Courts Issue Opinions in May Construing the CDA,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, May 2015
- “Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Action Against Search Engines Based Upon CDA Immunity,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, May 2015
- “2nd Circuit Issues Opinion Construing Immunity Provisions of the CDA,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, March 2015
- “Fla. Exculpatory Clauses Enjoy Their Moment in the Sun,” Law 360, Feb. 26, 2015
- “Ninth Circuit: CDA Does Not Bar Claims for Failure to Warn,” Holland & Knight Media & Communications Law Newsletter¸Winter/Spring 2015
- “Florida Court: Facebook Users Have Only ‘Minimal’ Privacy for Posted Photos,” Holland & Knight Alert, Jan. 14, 2015
- “Court Compels Production of Photos Posted on ‘Private’ Facebook Page,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, Jan. 2015
- “Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds that Communications Decency Act Does Not Bar Actions Against Website Operators for Failure to Warn,” Communications Lawyer, Winter 2015
- “Plaintiffs Exploit CDA Exception Created by 9th Circuit,” Law 360, Oct. 1, 2014
- “Sixth Circuit’s Decision in Jones v. Dirty World Entertainment Recordings, LLC Repairs Damage to Communications Decency Act” (co-author), Communications Lawyer, Fall 2014
- “Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals: CDA Does Not Bar Claims for Failure to Warn,” Holland & Knight Alert, Sept. 25, 2014
- “Florida Appellate Court Reverses TRO Enjoining Political Website: Judge Sued Website and Opponent for Defamation and Invasion of Privacy,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, Sept. 2014
- “Florida Court Claims Public Interest in Resolving Defamation Action Between New York Residents,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, July 2014
- “Blogger Entitled to a Pre-Suit Retraction Demand for Alleged Defamatory Comments in Blog,” MLRC MediaLawLetter, Apr. 2014
- “Should Bloggers Be Treated as Publishers Under Libel Law?” Law 360, Apr. 21, 2014
- “Florida Court: Blogger Entitled to Pre-Suit Retraction Demand for Alleged Defamatory Comments,” Holland & Knight Alert, Apr. 17, 2014
- “The ‘Dirt’ on Revocation of Immunity for Websites That ‘Encourage’ Defamatory Posts,” Communications Lawyer, Feb. 2013
- “Two Federal Cases Hold Website ‘Responsible’ for Postings on thedirty.com,” Holland & Knight Media & Communications Law Newsletter, Spring 2013
- “Rules for Avoiding the Pitfalls of Filing Inadequate Affidavits by Custodians of Business Records,” Newsletter of the ABA Business Law Section Committee on Business and Corporate Litigation, Summer 2012
- “Turning River Water Into Gold: Why Oyster Harvesters Should Not Be Permitted to Cash In On Salinity Caused by the Caernarvon Water Diversion Project,” Virginia Environmental Law Journal, 2003
- Bloomberg Law (nationally syndicated radio show on Bloomberg Radio), Sept. 26, 2014—featured guest on program discussing Jane Doe v. Internet Brands (9th Cir.)
- “Open Government and Florida’s Sunshine Laws: The Year in Review,” First Amendment Foundation, 2016 Sunshine Seminar, Oct. 4, 2016
- “Trends in Public Records Law: Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Media” (panelist), Annual Conference of ABA Forum on Communications Law, Feb. 4, 2016
- “The Love-Hate Relationship with Social Media: Maximize Opportunities Without Maximizing Risk,” LexisNexis Webinar, July 14, 2015
- “Dismantling the Wall in Florida: Challenges and Opportunities for Open Records Government in the Sunshine State,” Freedom of Information Conference, University of Florida College of Journalism & Communications, Mar. 27, 2015
- “Trends in Media Law and What Reporters and Editors Need to Know,” First Amendment Foundation, 2014 Sunshine Seminar, Oct. 22, 2014
- “Key Characteristics Shared by Effective Leaders,” Florida Forward 2014: The Road to Preeminence, Sept. 12, 2014
- “Ethical and Strategic Lessons Learned in the Litigation Trenches,” Association of Corporate Counsel, Central Florida Chapter, May 22, 2014
- “The Free Flow of Information Act and Other Hot Topics in Media Law,” First Amendment Foundation, 2013 Sunshine Seminar, Sept. 23, 2013
- “Cases Construing Anti-SLAPP Statutes and the Communications Decency Act and Other Hot Topics in Media Law,” First Amendment Foundation, 2013 Sunshine Seminar, Sept. 17, 2013
- “Effective Programming Strategies,” Florida Forward 2013: The Road to Preeminence, Aug. 30, 2013
- “Electronic Discovery: What the Rules Provide and How Attorneys Deal Defensively and Offensively With Electronic Discovery Issues,” Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Central Florida chapter meeting, Sept. 13, 2011
- “The Lost Art of Book Research: Research Tips for Litigators,” Holland & Knight Lecture Series at Florida A&M College of Law, Jan. 30, 2007