Roy Black

Roy Black was a founding partner of the firm and widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier trial and appellate lawyers. Roy was a veteran advocate, formidable litigator, and proven trial counselor. Roy’s analytical abilities, intellectual acumen, artistry in telling each client’s unique story, undeniable thirst for continuous learning, and absolute commitment to sharpening his skills cemented his reputation as one of the most diligent, hard-working, and effective criminal defense and civil litigation lawyers.

Roy mounted veritable defenses for charges ranging from murder to securities to bank, healthcare, and mail/wire fraud, as well as money laundering, internet sex crimes, and tax evasion. He was best known for his successful defense of William Kennedy Smith on rape charges in Palm Beach, Florida. Roy also successfully defended Eller Media (now known as Clear Channel Outdoor) against manslaughter charges stemming from the bus-bench electrocution of a 12-year-old boy in Miami.

Roy defended Albertsons, Inc. when the State of Florida charged the Fortune 500 company with manslaughter in the death of a shoplifter. He successfully represented New York artist Peter Max on income tax evasion charges.  He defended four-time Indy 500 winner and Dancing with the Stars champion, Helio Castroneves, in a 6-week tax evasion trial.  A selection of Roy’s other noteworthy clients includes Rush Limbaugh, Kelsey Grammer, South Florida police officers Luis Alvarez and William Lozano, and banker Fred De la Mata.

Roy represented the online news publication BuzzFeed and defeated a defamation lawsuit by a Russian entrepreneur and his tech company who were mentioned in a report by a former British spy about links between Russia and Donald Trump. Roy helped convince a federal judge in Florida that BuzzFeed’s publication of the Christopher Steele dossier was protected as accurate reporting on an official proceeding. Roy was also involved in various other high-stakes civil litigation cases, such as defending Rolls Royce against contract claims by various cruise lines. He also represented the chairman of one of the most famous entertainment companies in a series of lawsuits over allegations that a Canadian businessman tried to secretly harvest his DNA.

Since 1987, Roy was included every year among The Best Lawyers in America®. Chambers USA describes Roy as a top litigator with “the best national reputation in the State (of Florida)” and “famous for being good and actually practice(s) at that standard.” In fact, Chambers also said that Roy is “(s)o good, he is scary good,” is “uniquely gifted in front of juries,” and that “no one is as well prepared or has the presence in court of Roy Black.”

Featured on the cover of and in many national legal and business publications, Roy served as NBC’s legal analyst on “The Today Show” and frequently appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and several other network and cable news programs. He authored Black’s Law, a book that recounts the strategies he employed to safeguard the freedom of four clients.

Nicknamed “the professor” for his erudition and dedication to education, one of Roy’s great professional joys, outside of the courtroom, was teaching advanced criminal evidence at the University of Miami School of Law, a position he held since 1973. Roy derived a deep sense of personal satisfaction. He was honored to have the opportunity to teach and train decades of UM law students and assist them in becoming successful trial lawyers.

• Florida, 1970
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1976
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1984, 2011
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1982, 2011
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 1975
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1985
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 2003
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 1981
• U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 1984
• U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, 2001
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 2007
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, 2008
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1975
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, 2010

• J.D., University of Miami School of Law, 1970
• B.A., University of Miami, 1967

Mr. Black served as a public defender in Miami-Dade County prior to entering private practice. During his five years as a public defender, he represented hundreds of indigent defendants in felony and capital cases.

• Chambers and Partners
  • Key Individual – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Star Individual), 2014.  “[H]is reputation is well deserved . . . a class act, a quick study and always a gentleman.”
  • Key Individual – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Star Individual), 2013.  “[O]ne of the best lawyers down here, hands down.”
  • Key Individual – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Star Individual), 2012.  He is “the ‘go-to guy if you need to try a case and you need to win.’”
  • Key Individual – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Star Individual), 2011.  “He is the guy you want sitting next to you if you go to court.”
  • Key Individual – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Star Individual), 2013.  “[O]ne of the best lawyers down here, hands down.”
  • Key Individual – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (Star Individual), 2010.  “There’s no denying he’s a winner!”
  • Key Individual – Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2005-2009.
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell since 1980
• M. Minette Massey Award (presented to distinguished alumni for bringing honor and recognition to the University of Miami School of Law for a lifetime of ourstanding personal or professional achievement), University of Miami School of Law, 2014
• “Best Lawyers,” U.S. News Best Lawyers: Miami Non-White-Collar and White-Collar Criminal Defense, 1987-2014
• “Top Lawyers,” South Florida Legal Guide, 2001-2014
• “International Who’s Who of Business Crime Defence Lawyers,” and “International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers,” Who’s Who Legal, London, 2005-2014
• Ranked as Star Individual in Chambers and Partners Legal Guide, Florida Litigation: General Commercial, 2012
• Lawyer of the Year – U.S. News Best Lawyers, Miami Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2010; Miami Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar, 2012, 2015
• “Top 10 Florida Super Lawyers,” Florida Super Lawyers, 2006, 2009-2010, 2013 (Ranked #2), 2014 (Ranked #2)
• “Top 100 Miami Super Lawyers,” Florida Super Lawyers, 2010-2014
• “Top 100 Florida Super Lawyers,” Florida Super Lawyers, 2006-2014
• “Super Lawyer,” Florida Super Lawyers, 2006-2013
• Best Lawyers in America, 1987-2012
• “Florida Legal Elite,” Florida Trend, 2004-2014
• “Florida Legal Elite Hall of Fame,” Florida Trend, 2009-2013
• “The Round Table: America’s 100 Most Influential Trial Lawyers,” The Trial Lawyer Magazine, 2012-2013
• “Top 100 Litigation Lawyers in the State of Florida,” The American Society of Legal Advocates, 2014
• Nation’s Top Attorneys, National Association of Distinguished Counsel, Founding Member, 2014
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, 2010-2012
• The Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers, 2007-2012
• Highest ranked in Chambers and Partners Legal Guide, Florida Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, 2004-2011
• Marquis Who’s Who in the World, 2011
• Finalist (short-listed), Chambers USA Awards for Excellence,  Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations (individuals), 2008, 2010
• “Best of the Bar,” South Florida Business Journal, 2003-2010
• Selected for Super Lawyer Advisory Board, 2010
• “Legal IMPACT Leader,” South Florida Business Leader, 2010
• “South Florida Power Player,” South Florida Business Leader, 2010
•  “Most Effective Lawyers: Criminal Justice,” Daily Business Review, 2009
• Featured on the Cover of 2007 Florida Super Lawyers
• “Leading Lawyer 500,” Intercontinental Finance Magazine, 2013
• Awarded the Dade County Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Award in 1991
• Received the Nelson Poynter Award for voluntary representation of prisoners on Florida’s death row, 1991
• Served five years as public defender in Miami-Dade County, 1971-1976
• Achieved the highest score on the Florida Bar Exam in 1970

• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Life Member)
• Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• International Academy of Trial Lawyers
• American College of Trial Lawyers (Fellow)
• The National Trial Lawyers (Executive Committee)
• American Bar Association
• Miami-Dade County Bar Association
• Eugene Spellman Inns of Court

• Acquittal of William Kennedy Smith on rape charges in Palm Beach, Florida
• Dropped charges of doctor shopping obtained for Rush Limbaugh
• Acquittal of Eller Media on manslaughter charges stemming from the bus-bench electrocution of a 12-year-old boy in Miami
• Dismissal of matter involving Albertson’s, Inc., when the State of Florida charged the Fortune 500 Company with manslaughter in the death of a shoplifter
• Represented artist Peter Max in New York on income tax evasion charges
• Acquittal of South Florida police officers Luis Alvarez and William Lozano, who were accused of manslaughter in separate shootings
• Acquittal of a Miami jewelry supplier and his sales manager on charges of laundering more than $8 million in cocaine profits for Colombian drug lords
• Acquittal of a Miami attorney charged in an internet sex case
• Acquittal of 3-time Indy racecar and Dancing with the Stars champion Helio Castroneves charged with income tax evasion
• Lead trial attorney defending one of the largest charged financial crimes involving derivatives in the Southern District of New York to date, this Senior Executive and Vice President of the once leading residential mortgage lender in Puerto Rico, received a 5-year sentence following the government aggressively seeking a 27-34 year sentence.
• Represented the father of an infant child who was under threat of imminent arrest and the removal of his infant son and young daughter to DCF custody.  Client, father of a nine-month-old who sustained a severe brain injury, appeared in our office for urgent help. The father said the injury occurred when the child fell backwards off of his parents’ bed and onto a hardwood floor. Police detectives and treating physicians did not believe our client’s explanation and pressed the State Attorney for an arrest and charges. Given only two weeks by the prosecutor to convince her that charges should not be filed, attorneys Roy Black and Mark Shapiro tapped every available resource, pulling together the country’s leading engineering and medical experts on “short fall” injuries. Meeting the two- week deadline, the prosecutor was presented not only with detailed written opinions from our consultants, but with a full PowerPoint presentation given by one of the medical experts.  No charges were filed.
• Working alongside partners Scott Kornspan, Maria Neyra and Mark Shapiro, in addition to outside co-counsel, successfully defended one of the world’s largest corporations and employers in an investigation conducted by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office. Approximately 5 months after the investigation began, the State of Florida declined to prosecute.
• Obtained probation at sentencing, which resulted in possibly the shortest term of federal probation ever imposed, for Mary Estelle Curran, an elderly widow charged in one of the largest offshore bank account tax cases for failing to pay taxes and disclose $43 million held in accounts at UBS and LGT in Switzerland. At sentencing in United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Ms. Curran was sentenced to probation, which was immediately terminated, resulting in five seconds of federal probation.
• Working with partner Maria Neyra, conducted an internal investigation of a vending machine company entangled in a nation-wide operation against business opportunities and presented findings to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Consumer Branch Division which resulted in a resolution for the successor company and the extrication of certain officers, who were not amongst the 22 defendants charged with mail fraud and wire fraud offenses in three separate cases filed in the E.D. of New York.