Photo Credit: The Elias Law Firm, PLLC
Robert Elias leads one of the premier transactional boutique law firms in South Florida. The Elias Law Firm PLLC specializes in real estate (commercial and residential), corporate, estate planning/probate, asset protection and banking/lender representation throughout Florida. Mr. Elias maintains an AV PreEminent Lawyer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest legal peer rating for expertise, experience, and integrity and for overall professional excellence. Mr. Elias was also named to the exclusive list of South Florida’s Top Rated Lawyers by American Lawyer Media having completed nearly $2 Billion in transactions.
Mr. Elias is actively involved in the South Florida civic/non-profit sector. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida, Inc., among the largest chapters in the nation’s premier wish granting organization, and remains active with the Foundation. He was honored by Ronald McDonald House Charities as one of their “12 Good Men” for community involvement, civic service and commitment in and to South Florida.
He is a past President of the Miami Lakes Bar Association and served as the Mayoral appointee to the Town of Miami Lakes Economic Development Committee. Mr. Elias is a former founding member of the Jr. Board of Directors of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. He was appointed by the Chairperson of the Miami-Dade County School Board to the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Ethics. Mr. Elias is also a member of the Commercial Real Estate Council, a group of leading commercial real estate attorneys in Miami. He is also member of Faena Rose, a leading cultural and arts organization based in Miami Beach.
Robert Elias recently sat down with Haute Lawyer to share his philosophy when practicing law and what vision he has for the future of The Elias Law Firm, PLLC.
Haute Lawyer: What led you to practice law, and in turn, build your own firm?
Robert Elias: I am from a family of physicians and briefly considered medical school but ultimately felt that law school would be a better avenue for me. I was fortunate to be able to learn from some of the best and then the opportunity to represent clients in a boutique setting with alternative compensation structures (as opposed to a “Big Law” billable hour environment) proved to be too enticing.
HL: Who was your biggest mentor as you were developing your career?
RE: In my particular case, there was not one single mentor but rather I learned from each and every experience and colleague from my first legal internship at Carnival Cruise Lines to the Weiss Serota Helfman law firm. I tend to learn most by listening/observing and then asking the right questions. Outside of law, the biggest mentor is my father who rose to the top of his medical profession nationally.
HL: Is there a motto or a mantra to which you subscribe to professionally?
RE: I am happy to share with you the Guiding Principles of The Elias Law Firm which may provide some context for our approach…Our firm principles are as follows:
Our client’s interests always come first.
Our experience shows that if we serve our clients well, our own success will follow.
We stress teamwork in everything we do.
We have found that team effort often produces the best results.
We take great pride in the professional quality of our work.
We have an uncompromising determination to achieve excellence in everything we undertake. Though we may be involved in a wide variety and volume of activity, we would rather be among the best than among the biggest.
We stress creativity and imagination in everything we do.
While recognizing that the old way may still be the best way, we constantly strive to find a better solution to our client’s issues.
Our assets are our people and our reputation.
If any of these is ever diminished, the last is the most difficult to restore. We are dedicated to complying fully with the letter and spirit of the laws, rules, and ethical principles that govern us. Our continued success depends upon strict adherence to this standard.
We constantly strive to anticipate the rapidly-changing needs of our clients and to develop legal services that meet those needs.
We know that the world of law will not stand still and that complacency can lead to extinction.
We regularly receive confidential information as part of our normal client relationships.
To breach a confidence or to use confidential information improperly or carelessly would be unthinkable.
Our business is highly competitive, and we aggressively seek to expand our client relationships.
However, we must always be fair competitors and must never denigrate other firms.
Integrity and honesty are at the heart of our law firm.
We expect our people to maintain high ethical standards in everything they do, both in their work for the firm and in their personal lives.
HL: What is your vision for the Elias Firm, moving forward?
RE: We have experienced fairly rapid growth since the areas we practice, real estate (commercial and residential), corporate, and estate planning/probate are not only the backbone of business community but also are so universally necessary. I was fortunate to be awarded an AV Preeminent Lawyer Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating for both legal ability and professional excellence which much of our existing clientele appreciate. Candidly, the firm clients truly appreciate that all of the attorneys at the firm are outstanding. As such, we are investing significantly in the practice, our staff, and our physical space to help insure that the client experience is ever improving. The ultimate vision to be the best transactional boutique law firm that we can be. The Elias Law Firm is fortunate to have an “A” list roster of clients and want to continue to expand our services to other outstanding clients.
HL: What are three main factors clients should take into consideration when selecting a Real Estate Attorney?
RE:
1. Knowledge
2. Experience
3. Personality – Provided the lawyer is knowledgable and experienced, his or her personality can be an enormous key to success in transactional real estate. Having a diplomatic personality with a deal-making mindset typically correlates to a positive transaction and outcome.
HL: What lasting impacts, if any, do you predict to see within the real estate industry and you’re field of expertise as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
RE: While the trend to remote working can be lasting in certain fields, we find that our clients benefit more from us working in the traditional setting. We work collaboratively and much of that teamwork is lost when working from home. Moreover, notwithstanding we are constantly accessible, it is nice to be able to segregate “work mode” from “home mode” and that occurs easiest with the traditional model. That said, technology has enhanced the ability for certain practitioners to be successful when working remotely.
Law firm office designs seem to be trending back toward more offices and less office open space to mitigate against future possible pandemics.
Beyond this, from a substantive perspective, “covid/pandemic” legal provisions have found their way into real estate and other agreements of all types to clarify that contractual performance delays attributable to pandemics are legally excusable. This became quite an issue during the heart of the pandemic but should be adequately addressed in future agreements.
If you wish to learn more about The Elias Law Firm, CLICK HERE to visit their website.
