Robert F. “Rob” Lewis is a Partner in the Miami office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is the Co-Chair of the Alcohol & Regulated Industries Practice Group.
Rob focuses his practice on the laws governing alcohol industry members – including the three tiers of producers or importers, distributors and retailers - as well as tobacco and other regulated products. With more than 30 years of experience, his practice includes multi-discipline areas of legal needs common to hospitality, alcohol and tobacco industry clients.
Rob has extensive experience working with foreign and domestic manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retail industry clients on a wide range of issues. He regularly assists clients with matters related to alcohol licensing and the structuring of alcohol service operations. He is particularly adept at negotiating purchase agreements and management agreements, as well as handling complex license transfers and performing in-depth alcohol licensing due diligence reviews.
Additionally, Rob is intimately familiar with alcohol product advertising issues as well as the intricacies of marketing agreements, importation and distribution agreements, new product development processes, and the approval process for alcoholic beverage formulas and labels. He is also frequently called upon to provide regulatory compliance guidance, defend regulatory enforcement actions and navigate alcohol industry members through investigations initiated by state and federal officials.
Other areas of Rob’s practice include representing clients with administrative litigation proceedings, land use and zoning analyses and approvals, as well as state and local government initiatives. Rob has assisted in drafting new legislation as well as legislative amendments relating to the alcohol and hospitality industries.
As a former law enforcement officer and special agent with the State of Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Rob has experience with the processes and methods by which government regulators investigate and apprehend alcohol and tobacco law violators. He has also served as a witness on matters relating to alcohol beverage law and administrative code provisions in Florida.
He also has experience assisting clients with business permitting and transfers of business licenses as a results of new business ventures and expansions. He has worked as special regulatory counsel to mergers and acquisitions between hospitality and alcohol industry clients, on matters including contractual negotiations, regulatory compliance guidance, alcohol and food licensing, obtaining business tax receipts and business permits, building permits, certificates of use and occupancy, and other related operational permits.
Rob’s clients include domestic and foreign alcohol and tobacco suppliers, importers, wholesalers, real estate developers, and a broad range of alcohol retailers, including large box retailers, national restaurant chains, national pharmacies, nightclubs, private clubs, national retail chains, bars, national hotel chains and national hotel management companies, restaurateurs, sports arenas, including MLB and NBA sport franchises, national movie theaters companies, entertainment complexes and establishments, and other members of the hospitality and alcohol industry.
Credentials
Education
- University of Miami School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, May 1997
Bar Admissions
- Florida
Languages
- Spanish
Professional and Civic
- National Alcohol Beverage Control Association (NABCA), Member
- National Association of Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Attorneys (NAABLA), Member
- National Association of Licensing & Compliance Professionals (NALCP), Member
- National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA), Member
- The Florida Bar, Administrative Law Section, Member
- The Florida Bar, City, County, and Local Government, Member
- Adjunct Professor, St. Thomas University School of Law, 2006-2008
News & Insights
News & Speaking Engagements
- Quoted, “How South Florida Restaurants can Fight Back Against Inflation,” South Florida Business Journal, August 24, 2022
- Quoted, “Florida Boutique Rejects Seniority in Favor of Merit-Based Pay,” Law360 Pulse, June 15, 2022
- Quoted, “This Law Firm is Ditching Partner and Associate Titles. Will it Improve Team Culture?" Daily Business Review, July 11, 2022
- Quoted, “How 6 Months of Client Nonpayment Made Spiritus Law Better,” Daily Business Review, April 14, 2022
- Quoted, “Florida Led U.S. in Newly Formed Businesses in ’21 Census Data Shows,” Sun Sentinel, March 10, 2022
- “COVID-19 Lessons for South Florida’s Hospitality Sector,” Daily Business Review, July 19, 2021
- Quoted, “These Dogs are Having a Ruff Time as Their Attorney Owners Return to Court,” Daily Business Review,” May 13, 2021
- Quoted in "Florida Senate Passes Bill to Allow Restaurants to Sell Booze To-Go," Miami New Times, April 8, 2021
- "NATIONWIDE: An Introduction to Food & Beverages: Alcohol," Chambers & Partners USA, 2021
- Quoted in “Florida Legislation To Watch In 2021," Law360, January 3, 2021
- Quoted in "Covid-19 Relief Includes Tax Cut that Would Benefit South Florida Brewers, Distillers," South Florida Business Journal, December 23, 2020
- Quoted in "Bars Begin Serving Sandwiches, Hot Dogs and More to Reopen During COVID-19," The Sun Sentinel, September 5, 2020
- Quoted in "Miami-Dade Restaurants 'Disheartened' by Second Order to Close as COVID-19 Numbers Climb," The Daily Business Review, July 7, 2020
- "Grab a Drink While Social Distancing? Attorney Talks Marriage of Irreconcilable Concepts," The Daily Business Review, May 22, 2020
- Quoted in "Liability lawsuits: What Should Businesses Worry About as They Re-Open?," South Florida Business Journal, May 13, 2020
- "Tips for Restaurants and Bars to Survive the Pandemic," South Florida Business & Wealth, April 29, 2020
- Quoted in "Operators Find Relief for Liquor License Payments During the Coronavirus Pandemic," Restaurant Hospitality, April 22, 2020
- “How COVID-19 Could Impact Your Liquor License,” Bar Business Magazine, April 14, 2020
- Quoted in “On the Growl: As the Use of Growlers Increases, It’s Important for Producers to be Aware of the Rules,” July 12, 2018
- “High Court Weakens State Laws for Liquor Retailers,” Law360, July 2, 2019
- Quoted in “Tennessee Residency Law: Did the Three-Tier System Come Crashing Down Yesterday?,” Wine Curmudgeon, June 27, 2019
- “FDA Holds First Public Hearing on CBD – Did the Smoke Clear?,” BoozeBarrister.com, June 2019
- "Too Drunk to Ride? Ride-Sharing Services May Drop Loyal Clients," The Daily Business Review, August 23, 2018
- Quoted in Spirited Magazine on growler labeling and other legal issues, August 8, 2018
- Quoted in “Trump Tax Cut Might Keep the Cost of Craft Beer Down — or Put it Out of Business,” The Miami Herald, January 24, 2018
Practice Areas
Accolades
- Food & Beverages: Alcohol, Chambers & Partners, USA, 2014-2024
- Food & Beverage Law, Best Lawyers in America, 2015-2025
- Rated AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell, 2019-2023
- Top Lawyer, South Florida Legal Guide, 2012-2023
- Outstanding Performance and Contribution to the South Florida Legal Community, South Florida Legal Guide, 2020
- Florida Trailblazer, Daily Business Review, 2019
- Most Effective Lawyers: Government Relations/Regulatory, Daily Business Review, 2018
- Top Up and Comer, South Florida Legal Guide, 2007-2010, 2012