Robert Heath is a native Floridian and a graduate of Auburn University and the Florida State University College of Law. A former state court prosecutor, Robert has a wide range of legal experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury, product liability, insurance, first-party claims, hurricane and disaster claims, medical malpractice, and mass tort cases for over 41 years. He has been board certified as a civil trial lawyer by The Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy for over 33 years and a Board Certified Civil Practice Advocatesince 2012. Robert holds an AV peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, has been recognized as one of Florida’s Legal Elite, and as a Florida Super Lawyer in Alternate Dispute Resolution for the past 17 years.
Robert has been a certified mediator for over 28 years and has mediated over 3,500 disputes, over 850 of them online, involving personal injury, product liability, medical malpractice, construction defects, police misconduct and excessive force, fire loss, sexual harassment/employer liability, homeowner associations, real property claims, hurricane damage and other first-party claims, and toxic tort litigation. He is a member of the Florida Academy of Professional Mediators and the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. He received a special appointment by the Florida Insurance Commissioner to mediate and resolve hurricane claims arising from Hurricane Erin and Opal in 1995.
Robert has tried over 100 jury trials and argued cases before the First District Court of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court. He is one of thirteen lawyers nationwide appointed on a bipartisan basis by the U. S. District Court in Louisiana to serve on the Appeals Panel of the Deepwater Horizon Economic and Property Damage Settlement Program, the largest settlement in U.S. history. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts in the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida. He has mediated cases pending in all Florida federal courts and 18 of Florida’s 20 judicial circuits.
Robert recently received his certificate in Advanced Mediation Training from The Harvard Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
Robert also has extensive experience as an arbitrator, having served as a nationwide arbitrator for the Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust, the Fibreboard Global Asbestos Settlement Claims Trust, the Dalkon Shield Claimants Trust, and the Piper Aircraft Corporation Irrevocable Trust. He has arbitrated cases throughout the United States and served as chief arbitrator for consolidated toxicexposure claims arising from a chemical exposure as well as numerous local insurance and property disputes.