Civil Litigation Real Estate Securities Litigation Business Litigation Administrative & Regulatory
Practice Areas
Education
Robert D. Mitchell is an experienced trial attorney who focuses his legal practice on complex commercial and financial litigation, particularly in the areas of securities and investments, financial fraud litigation, business disputes and torts, defamation, and commercial real estate litigation. He has over 30 years of experience in such cases. His cases generally involve litigation, arbitration and mediation of legal matters involving business and contractual disputes, investment and financial frauds, commercial real estate and development, corporate and LLC issues, and other commercial and financial matters. Robert is licensed in Arizona, California, Texas and Utah, and has handled commercial litigation matters in other states across the United States.
Robert has extensive experience in the evaluation, litigation (including class action litigation) and arbitration of securities and investment cases. He regularly represents brokerage firms, investment advisers and stockbrokers in litigation and regulatory matters. Robert also represents companies and individuals in commercial real estate investment, development and business transaction disputes and other litigation matters. His clients include commercial real estate firms and developers and real estate brokerage firms.
For more than three decades, Robert Mitchell has enjoyed a remarkable civil and commercial litigation practice that has featured a string of successful outcomes, including:
Taking on high-profile cases nationwide and working with local counsel as needed, Robert has successfully tried cases from Los Angeles to New York, from Seattle to Miami and various jurisdictions in between.
As a graduate of the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law (ranked 25th in the nation, and 9th among public law schools), Robert’s curriculum emphasis was in the areas of securities, corporation and business law, and included graduate business courses in the areas of finance and accounting. Prior to obtaining his Juris Doctor degree, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University in accounting. Robert is also a graduate of the Arizona College of Trial Advocacy.
Robert is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Arizona, Supreme Court of the State of California, Supreme Court of the State of Texas, Supreme Court of the State of Utah, United States District Court for the District of Arizona, United States District Court for the Southern District of California, United States District Court for the Central District of California, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, State Bar of California, State Bar of Texas, and the State Bar of Utah.
Robert has been given an “AV-rating”, the highest peer-based rating an attorney can receive and is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is also listed in Arizona’s Finest Lawyers (www.azfinestlawyers.org), and in the current editions of Best Lawyers in America® and Super Lawyers®, which are legal rating services which recognize the top attorneys across the country through independent research and peer evaluations. Less than 5% of attorneys qualify for recognition by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers. Robert is listed in the current edition of Marquis Who’s Who in American Law. Robert has also qualified for and been admitted to Mensa, a non-profit society recognizing intellectual ability and achievement. Robert was selected for inclusion in the 2022 and 2023 Phoenix Magazine’s List of Top Lawyers.
He has been a regular public speaker on legal related topics, including Effective Trial Opening Statements and Closing Arguments, Expert Witness Testimony, Real Estate Litigation, Arbitration of Investment Disputes, Investment Analysts and Securities Litigation Legislation, the Securities Reform Act, Mechanic’s Liens in Real Estate Transactions, and Alternative Dispute Resolution, among other subjects. He has been invited to speak at securities industry training seminars on arbitrations and mediations. In addition, he has made presentations to attorneys, broker-dealer firms, and other professional groups on securities law and regulatory compliance matters, and arbitration and mediation of securities disputes.
Robert has also served in the past as a member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona State University Alumni Association and was one of four co-chairmen of its Old Main Restoration Committee and has received the distinction of Outstanding Alumni Board Member. He is a past Chairman of the ASU Founder’s Day Committee and the Awards Committee. He is a past President and a former Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament Chairman of the Arizona State University College of Business Alumni Association, a former member of the ASU Dean’s Board of Excellence, and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona State University College of Law Alumni Association. Robert remains actively involved with the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law as a donor and supporter.
Robert was lead counsel in a 2016 federal court case where the jury awarded his client (an investment professional) a record $38.3 million internet defamation judgment and was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal, One Man’s Bid to Clear His Name Online: 4 years, $3 Million, and Some Dead Turtles. Robert is no stranger to handling high profile cases, and he has been quoted or his cases reported on in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Bloomberg, The Guardian, USA Today, The Seattle Times, The Las Vegas Review, The Arizona Republic, The Los Angeles Business Journal, Yahoo Finance, Law360, Vanity Fair, BBC News, and other major publications.