Robert J. Frank was born in Ankara Turkey in 1965. His father was a U.S. Navy Chief and his mother a floral designer. Mr. Frank grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado and graduated from Doherty High School in 1983. He graduated Cum Laude from Cornell College in Mount Vernon Iowa in 1987. While at Cornell, Mr. Frank was a member of Alpha Chi Epsilon and the Cornell Rugby Football Club.
Mr. Frank received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1990, graduating “With Distinction” from the University of Iowa College of Law. While at the University of Iowa Mr. Frank was honored to have been chosen as a member, and later, as Associate Editor of the Iowa Law Review. Mr. Frank was Vice President of the Iowa Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy and was an active member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.
Robert J. Frank has been licensed to practice in the federal and state courts of Colorado continuously since 1990. Mr. Frank has been licensed to practice in the federal and state courts of West Virginia continuously since 2008. Mr. Frank is licensed to practice before the Fourth Circuit, Fifth Circuit and Tenth Circuit United States Courts of Appeal. Additionally, Mr. Frank has been granted permission to appear in multiple other state and federal courts on a special basis to assist in the litigation of complex cases.
Mr. Frank has successfully represented individual and corporate clients in complex civil litigation and appeals against the nation’s largest and most powerful law firms and governmental institutions. Mr. Frank has successfully represented clients in state trial courts, state appellate court, federal district courts, and federal courts of appeal. In 2017 Robert J. Frank was co-lead trial counsel in a national bellwether pharmaceutical trial relating to the prescription drug Risperdal.
Mr. Frank’s law practice is an extension of his larger Christian Ministry. Mr. Frank is a member of Rhema Christian Center, an interdenominational church, where he serves as Chair of the Executive Committee, as well as in a teaching pastoral role. Mr. Frank serves persons of all faiths (including those of no faith), and all backgrounds, and life-styles.
Mr. Frank’s practice emphasizes representing clients in federal and state trial and appellate courts on matters involving complex civil litigation including: serious bodily injury and death; motorcycle litigation; civil rights; complex domestic matters; and large estate litigation and will contests.
Areas of Practice:
Complex Civil Litigation
Catastrophic Injury and Wrongful Death Claims
Civil Rights Litigation
Complex and Large Estate Divorce Litigation
Large Estate Litigation / Will Contest
Commercial and Business Litigation
Zoning and Land Use Litigation
Advising Churches in Non-Tax Business Matters / RLUIPA
Legal Malpractice
Professional Organizations:
American Bar association
American Association for Justice
West Virginia Association for Justice
National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
National Academy of Family Law Attorneys
Greenbrier County Bar Association
Super Lawyers
Education:
Juris Doctor, University of Iowa College of Law, Iowa City, Iowa (1990 Graduating with distinction)
Associate Editor, Iowa Law Review (1989 – 1990)
Member, Iowa Law Review (1988 – 1989)
Vice President, Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy (1988 – 1990)
Bachelor of Arts, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa (1987 Graduating Cum Laude)
Politics and Philosophy
Published Works:
American Savings Bank v. Waschkat:Iowa Continues to Frustrate the Rights of Co-debtors, Iowa Law Review, Vol. 75, No. 1 p. 259, Oct, 1989
Discovery, A Pre-Requisite to The Running Of the Governmental Notice Period, The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 24, No. 10 p. 2381, 1995
Informal Investigation and Discovery: Winning the Ball Game Before it Begins, Colorado Personal Injury Practice for Paralegals, Half Moon L.L.C., 1998
The Totality of the Circumstances; A proper Analysis of Foreseeability, The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 24 No.5 p. 1075, May, 1995
Detecting Malingering In a Minor Closed Head Injury Case: Objective Neuropsychological Methods, Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 17 No. 2 p. 65, March / April, 1994
Complex Issues in Divorce for the Colorado Practitioner, National Business Institute, 2004
Pretextual Administrative Searches – A Fourth Amendment Violation, (Accepted for Publication), AAJ Civil Rights Section Newsletter, Spring, 2010
Representative Cases:
The Bakery et al. v. Pritt, Civil Action No. 15-C-10, Greenbrier County Circuit Court, West Virginia. (2018)
Clements et al. [Wolken] v. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, et al., Coordinated Proceedings – Risperdal Invega Cases, JCCP4775, Superior Court, State of California, County of Los Angeles. (2017)
Shires v. Estate of Harriet Heep Shaffer v. David Shaffer, Civil Action No. 15-C-154, Greenbrier County Circuit Court, West Virginia. (2016)
Club Retro LLC v. Hilton, 568 F.3d 181 (5th Cir. 2009)
Estate of Herring v. City of Colo. Springs, 233 Fed. Appx. 854 (10th Cir. Colo.) (10th Cir. Colo. 2007)
Estate of Herring v. City of Colo. Springs, Den’d 128 S.Ct. 888, 169 L.Ed. 727 (U.S. 2008)
Stalcup v. Schlage Lock Co., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1360 (D. Colo. Jan. 9. 2007)
Estate of Wallace v. City of Los Angeles, 229 F.R.D. 163 (C.D. Cal. 2005)
City of Fountain v. Gast, 904 P.2d 478 (Colo. 1995)
Arnold by & Through Valle v. Colorado State Hosp., Dep’t of Institutions, 910 P.2d 104 (Colo. Ct. App. 1995)
Awards:
The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers (2014-2018)
Colorado Super Lawyer (2007)
National Academy of Family Law Attorneys – Top Ten Attorney Award (2014)
National Leadership Award (2000 – by the National Republican Congressional Committee)
Pikes Peak Legal Services 100 Hours Club (for donating 300 hours of pro-bono legal services in one year) (1995-96)
Brian S. Gardner Outstanding Young Lawyer Award (1994)
Professional Licensure:
West Virginia State Bar (2008 – present)
United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
(2008 – present)
United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
(2012 – present)
United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (2007 – present)
United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (2001 – present)
United States District Court for the District of Colorado (1991 – present)
Colorado State Bar (1990 – present)
Pro-hoc Vice Admissions:
United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Central District of Louisiana
United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles
Superior Court of the State of California, County of Alameda
Circuit Court of the 21st Judicial Court, Kankakee, Illinois;
Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, Montana
9th Judicial District Court, Rapids Parish, Louisiana
14th Judicial District Court, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
Professional Experience:
Sanders Law Firm, Of Counsel
The Law Firm of Robert J. Frank & Assoc. LLC, Owner / Member
Sanders, Jones & Frank, LLC, Owner/Member
Tegtmeier, Frank & Jones, LLC, Owner/Member
Victorian Café Company, General Counsel
Jones, Frank & Linden (Jones & Frank) LLC, Owner / Member
Melat, Pressman, Ezell & Higbie, Associate Attorney
Community And Nonprofit Service:
Rhema Christian Center – Executive Committee Chair (present)
West Virginia MCLE Commission (2015-2017)
Greenbrier County Child and Youth Advocacy Center, Board of Directors (2010 – 2016 (Nonprofit)
Greenbrier Valley Young Men’s Christian Association, Board of Directors (2010 – 2011) (Nonprofit)
Fatherhood Foundation Inc., Secretary (2000-2004) (Nonprofit)
Colorado Christmas in January, Inc., President (1993 – 1995) (Nonprofit)
Business Advisory Counsel, Honorary Co-Chairman (2000)
Opinions Of Note:
Club Retro LLC v. Hilton, 568 F.3d 181 (5th Cir. 2009)
Estate of Herring v. City of Colo. Springs, 233 Fed. Appx. 854 (10th Cir. Colo. 2007) Cert. Den’d 128 S.Ct. 888, 169 L.Ed. 727 (U.S. 2008)
Stalcup v. Schlage Lock Co., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1360 (D. Colo. Jan. 9, 2007)
Estate of Wallace v. City of Los Angeles, 229 F.R.D. 163 (C.D. Cal. 2005)
City of Fountain v. Gast, 904 P.2d 478 (Colo. 1995)
Arnold By & Through Valle v. Colorado State Hosp., Dep’t of Institutions, 910 P.2d 104 (Colo. Ct. App. 1995)
