Rob focuses his practice on creditors’ rights, corporate and real estate. These areas have allowed him to serve as outside general counsel for a number of small businesses. Rob has led clients through a wide variety of real estate transactions and litigation, secured transactions, insolvency and financial services litigation, complex receivership appointments, foreclosures, partitions, and condemnations. Rob began his practice at a national firm in its insolvency group. He uses that experience to lead clients through all chapters of bankruptcy.
Having an extensive background in loan enforcement and finance, Rob represents many well-respected banks and financial institutions on matters involving loan priority, claims, and judgments, both locally and nationally. Vehemently protecting the client’s loan position is his goal. When a borrower, vendor, or debtor enters a client’s watch list or files for bankruptcy, Rob strategically navigates the creditor client through the loan remedies or complicated bankruptcy processes, procedures, and timelines. Rob also guides clients on the front-end documentation of loans. He has represented clients in multi-million-dollar loan transactions involving various types of borrowers, both real and personal property collateral, including multi-level borrower structures. His work also includes the back-end, default, and workout end of loan enforcement through forbearance agreements; modification agreements; and deeds in lieu of foreclosure agreements, or consensual receivership appointments. Rob’s clients range from one of the largest small business lenders in the United States to rural banks with one branch. Regardless of size, it is Rob’s goal to protect that lender’s loan position and to effectively and efficiently maximize recovery.
Another facet of Rob’s practice includes advising commercial, retail, industrial, and residential real estate clients in numerous areas, including acquisition, financing, development, renting, leasing, and liquidation of real estate. He recently represented a Missouri-based frozen custard chain in the acquisition and leasing of retail locations throughout the United States.
Rob grew up in a small town in the Kansas City area. His dad was a teacher and a three-sport high school coach. Rob went to Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, where he played football. He was fortunate enough to participate in two football Final Fours while at Baker University under the coaching and leadership of a College Football Hall of Fame coach. He has taken the preparation, organization, management, leadership, and advocacy he learned from the Baker coaches to shape his law career and to tackle every client’s issue with that same advocacy and preparation.
- University of Kansas School of Law, J.D., 1998
- University of Kansas School of Business, M.B.A., 1998
- Baker University, B.S. Accounting and B.S. Business Management, cum laude, 1994
- Academic All-American Athlete (Football) – USA Today’s National Defensive Player of the Game, NAIA Playoffs, 1993; Three Time Heart of America Athletic All-Conference Scholar Athlete
- Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
- Blue Key Honor Society
Admissions
- Kansas
- Missouri
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
- American Bankruptcy Institute
- Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Kansas City
- Kansas Bankers Association
- Kansas City Bankruptcy Bar Association, Former Vice President
- Kansas Bar Association
- Missouri Independent Bankers Association
- The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
- United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri, Former Attorney Advisory Committee
Community Involvement
- Hillcrest Hope Transitional Housing, Board of Directors, Treasurer 2009-2019
- Heart of America United Way, Allocations Committee
- Former Board Member, Supporting Kids Foundation
- Active as a youth sports coach in baseball, football, and basketball
Awards
- Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Creditor-Debtor Rights, 2015-present
- The Kansas City Business Journal, Best of the Bar, 2016
- Earl O’Conner Inn, American Inns of Court.
Published Works and Speaking Engagements
- Co-Author, Bankruptcy, A Construction Industry Perspective, CFMA Building Profits, March/April 2006 ed., pp. 8-14.
- Presenter, “Missouri and Kansas Foreclosures,” KC Metropolitan Bar Association Conference, September, 2009