Skip to Main Content
Overview

Whether an acquisition, disposition, supply chain or sourcing transaction, or a licensing issue, Rob helps clients get to yes.

With a lifelong fascination with business, Rob has been described as “the problem prevention department.” His goal is to provide legal solutions that will keep businesses running smoothly, and he aims to learn as much as possible about client operations so that he can support them as a true partner.

Rob devotes the majority of his practice to mergers, acquisitions, supply chain management and software licensing and implementations, as well as other corporate transactions. He works most frequently for clients in the transportation, manufacturing, and technology industries, and while he serves clients of all sizes, from entrepreneurs to international conglomerates, his transactional work tends to focus on value buyers and middle market deals of up to $500 million. In the supply chain arena, Rob concentrates on international sourcing arrangements, and the conflicts that arise during the purchase, supply, or transport of goods and outsourcing of services. These matters often require a deep dive into understanding of a clients’ business and processes, and the resulting deals may have values in the tens of billions.

Rob’s prior experience in the computer industry provides him with a solid background for software matters as well. In addition to his transactional and supply chain work, Rob regularly advises software clients on licensing and implementation questions, and he also has experience with information security and records management issues.

Rob is known for his pragmatism: he wants clients to be aware of risks, but at the end of the day, his goal is to make deals, not break deals. A solutions-oriented attorney, Rob is focused on getting clients to a yes without disrupting their businesses. He also has a strong reputation for his communication skills and for his ability to translate legal jargon into practical advice. Clients appreciate his gift for applying complex legal concepts to their on-the-ground issues—as well as his sincere enthusiasm for their businesses and business goals.

Industries

Services

Recognition

  • Illinois Super Lawyers, 2010-2022
  • Illinois Leading Lawyers, 2014

Education

  • J.D., DePaul University College of Law
    • The DePaul Journal of Health Care Law
  • B.A., University of Iowa

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • American Bar Association
  • ARMA (Records Management Association)
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Former Executive Committee of the “Emerging Business Network”
  • National Notary Association
2024 Pro Bono Contributor
Experience
  • Serves as key partner to a Berkshire Hathaway consumer products company with $2 billion in worldwide annual sales, providing assistance across a broad range of legal issues, including contract review, real estate, antitrust, and environmental and supply chain issues.
  • Serves as primary outside counsel to one of the world's largest industrial wheel and hardware manufacturers. The company, owned by a private equity group, has manufacturing and distribution facilities around the world.
  • Regularly leads mergers and transactions for a diversified industrial organization with facilities and employees around the world with over $8 billion in annual revenues and nearly 20,000 employees.
  • Represents one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of consumer and industrial radio-controlled products, providing counsel on mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, distributor-dealer relations, and employment law issues.
  • Provided review, analysis, and advice on a client's three-year $36 billion supply agreement.
  • Sole outside attorney invited to participate by a global energy management company on a companywide international cybercommittee focused on data security and data sharing across international borders.
  • Counsels a cloud-based B2B software provider on software agreements, data security, corporate governance, and customer agreements.
Outside the Office

Rob is a devoted hockey fan who jokes that he has brainwashed his entire family, which includes three teen and young adult daughters, into also loving the sport. He attends as many Chicago Blackhawks games as possible and travels frequently to attend his youngest daughter’s hockey games. At the other end of the temperature spectrum, Rob also enjoys scuba diving and is a certified rescue diver.

Rob’s other top hobby is a perfect fit for his work with technology clients: a huge techie who always has to have the latest and coolest technology, Rob is an aspiring radio control and drone pilot. (“Aspiring” because he admits he’s not particularly good at it.)

Community Leadership
  • Jewish Council for Youth Services (JYCS), Former Member of Board of Directors