Roy Black (born February 17, 1945) is an American civil and criminal defense trial attorney, he is also a founding partner of Black Srebnick. He is a member of the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame.[1] He is known for his gaining an acquittal, in 1991, of William Kennedy Smith on charges of rape and for his representation of conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh.
Roy Black | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | February 17, 1945
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Spouse |
Naomi Morris Black
(m. 1984, divorced)Lea Black (m. 1994) |
Children | 2 |
Among the other celebrities whom Black has represented include actor Kelsey Grammer, racer Hélio Castroneves, Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis, artist Peter Max,[2] financier Jeffrey Epstein,[3] and pop musician Justin Bieber. Black is also informally referred to by his nickname, "The Professor".[4][1]
Early life and education
editBlack was born in New York City in 1945.[5] His parents divorced soon after his birth and his mother remarried in 1951 to a British automotive executive who moved the family to Connecticut and then to Jamaica.[5] Black attended Jamaica College[citation needed] and then earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Miami in 1967 and a Juris Doctor at the University of Miami School of Law. While attending UM, Black was a member of the Zeta Epsilon chapter of Alpha Tau Omega. Following his 1970 graduation, he received the highest possible score on the Florida Bar Exam.[5] After school, he worked as an assistant public defender.[5] In 1973, he worked as an adjunct professor in criminal evidence at the University of Miami.[5]
Career
editCurrently a partner in Black Srebnick, a Miami-based trial firm specializing in civil litigation and criminal defense, Black also serves as an adjunct instructor of criminal evidence at the University of Miami School of Law.[6] In 1992, Black represented police officer William Lozano, whose killing of Clement Lloyd sparked the 1989 Miami riots, he was convicted. However on appeal his conviction was overturned and in a retrial in 1993 he was acquitted.[7] In 2022, Black won an acquittal for a client charged with bribing a Georgetown University tennis coach to admit his daughter to Georgetown, ending the U.S. Government's unbroken streak of convictions in the "Varsity Blues" prosecutions.[8] In addition to his legal work, Black provides legal commentary for various NBC news shows and played the "managing partner" of The Law Firm,[9] a short-lived reality-based TV show pitting lawyers against each other week-to-week in a legal version of The Apprentice.
Roy Black was chosen as a top lawyer by Super Lawyers between 2006 and 2024.[10]
Personal life
editBlack has been married three times. In 1984, he married his second wife, Naomi Morris Black, with whom he has a daughter,[11] Nora Black (psychotherapist, San Francisco). In 1994, Roy Black married Lea Black, who was a juror in the William Kennedy Smith trial and was a main cast member on The Real Housewives of Miami. They began dating several months after the trial.[12] They have a son, RJ,[13] who like his father, occasionally appeared on the show (e.g., in episode 2.7, "Bras and Brawls, Part I", in which the three discuss one of Black's cases).
References
edit- ^ a b "Roy Black". Roy Black. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "Aventura Business Monthly website". Archived from the original on February 5, 2011.
- ^ Conchita Sarnoff & Lee Aitken (March 25, 2011). "Behind Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Sweetheart Deal". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "The Verdict". Vanity Fair. September 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Miami Magazine: "Black's Magic" BY CHRISTOPHER BOYD Spring 1998
- ^ Christopher Boyd (Spring 1998). "Black's Magic". Miami Magazine. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^ Rohter, Larry (May 29, 1993). "Miami Police Officer Is Acquitted In Racially Charged Slaying Case". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
- ^ Hartocollis, Anemona (June 16, 2022). "A Businessman Is Acquitted in a Georgetown Admissions Trial". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ "Roy Black listing at IMDB". IMDb.
- ^ "Roy Black". Super Lawyers. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ^ People Magazine: "Love and the Law - Four Years After the William Kennedy Smith Trial, Lawyer Roy Black and a Juror Are Husband and Wife" by Karen S. Schneider March 06, 1995
- ^ Karen S. Schneider (March 6, 1995). "Love and the Law". People. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
- ^ "Season 2 Bio: Lea Black". BravoTV.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012.