Mr. Robert Elias leads one of the premier transactional boutique law firms in South Florida, The Elias Law Firm PLLC, and specializes in real estate (commercial and residential), corporate, estate planning/probate, asset protection and banking/lender representation throughout the sunshine state.
Photo Credit: The Elias Law Firm | Haute Media Group
Mr. Elias took the time to speak with Haute Media Group co-founder, Seth Semilof, about opening his own firm and recent real estate trends in the South Florida region. Here are some of the highlights from the conversation:
Seth Semilof: What made you want to become a lawyer rather than a doctor, for instance?
Robert Elias: It’s funny you ask that. I come from a family of physicians actually. While I was still in pre-med, I came to realize that it just wasn’t for me. Initially, I wasn’t aware what path I would take but I knew that a law degree would offer me multiple avenues which I could take advantage should I choose to not settle into the traditional practice of law. Whether that would be a bank president, university president or even politician, I knew it would be a versatile degree.
SS: What led you to open your own law firm? Could you tell us a bit more about your areas of specialization?
RE: One of the reasons there are many great lawyers in big firms is because they are great at the practice of law but they might lack a key feature needed to run their own firm, and that is the ability to connect with people and drive business. I realized I did have that ability. I felt like I could do this in a boutique setting where everyone was not a slave to billable hours, among other things that frustrate lawyers in big firms, and I think we’ve been very fortunate to have success in our niche areas.
As far as our areas of specialization, you briefly mentioned them before, but I feel like we’re predominantly known for residential and commercial real estate law in South Florida. We also do corporate law and do estate planning/probate, coupled with asset protection which is tangential to that because you can’t have a discussion on estate planning without discussing asset protection.
We are lovers, not fighters. We don’t go to court; we don’t sue anybody. People love to see us because we’re working to do something productive, we’re not the kind of lawyers you would try to avoid. Our clients are buying, selling, starting new businesses, so it’s not a hardcore environment with litigators running around.
Enjoy the entirety of the conversation at the YouTube clip below:
