Prior to joining the Criminal Justice Institute, Robert was in private practice specializing in criminal defense.  Robert has represented and consulted hundreds of clients in all phases of criminal proceedings from minor misdemeanors to serious felonies.  Robert was a member of Suffolk Lawyers for Justice and Middlesex Defense Attorneys bar advocate programs for ten years providing legal representation to indigent defendants in District and Superior Courts in Massachusetts.  He has served as invited guest faculty in the Trial Advocacy Workshop at Harvard Law School since 2009.  Prior to practicing law, he was a high school English teacher in California.   Robert is licensed to practice before the Supreme Judicial Court for Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  He earned a B.A. from Morehouse College, an Ed.M from Harvard University, and a J.D. from Northeastern University.