Robert G. Nichols

954-779-3313
Bob@BobNicholsLaw.com

Robert G. Nichols has been practicing criminal law since 1988, and has handled literally thousands of complex criminal cases during his career. Although he handles every type of criminal matter (please consult our list on Areas of Practice page for a detailed list), he now specializes in the defense of high-profile, complex sex crimes and drug trafficking. Mr. Nichols was a senior prosecutor in the prestigious Sexual Battery Unit for over 7 years with both the Broward and Pinellas County State Attorney’s Offices. He was a former instructor for the United States Attorneys Office and the FBI regarding the investigation of sex-related crimes, and was an instructor in Europe as a member of the prestigious United Kingdom Crime Faculty. He was twice invited by the United States Senate to testify before the US Senate as an expert in handling sex-related crimes, and worked with United States Customs on drug and sex-related cases. Mr. Nichols served on President Clinton’s Task Force on Drugs in Public Schools, and has co-authored several books and articles regarding proper investigation techniques in sex and drug cases. Mr. Nichols has handled many high-profile cases, and has been featured on Court TV, 20/20, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, Dateline, ABC World News Tonight, USA Today, The New York Times, People Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine and GQ Magazine as well as several news documentaries in Great Britain, Germany, and South America. Mr. Nichols has personally handled over 300 jury trials, most of which were complex felony cases.

Mr. Nichols was the lead attorney in the case of State of Florida v Kathy Bush, a 3-month long trial which involved a mother’s efforts to keep her daughter, Jennifer Bush, hospitalized for years as a result of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. The case involved hundreds of doctors from across the country, extremely complex medical issues, and witnesses such as Hillary Clinton, Jeff Conine, Sen. Bob Graham, and Sen. Edward Kennedy.

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954-779-3313
Bob@BobNicholsLaw.com

Education:

Juris Doctor, Stetson University College of Law (1988)

Editor, Stetson Law Journal; Dean’s list

Bachelor of Science in Advertising, University of Florida (1986)

- Dean’s list; National Dean’s List;
- Gold Key Honor Society; Florida Blue Key;
- Kappa Tau Alpha National Journalism Scholarship Society
- Arbitrator and Co-Founder of Gainesville Community Boards;
- Teacher, Alachua County DOC (GED Program); Alachua County Justice Award

Associate of Science in Advertising Design, Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (1981)

1981 Video Advertising Awards x 4, Honors

Professional Experience:

Nichols Law, 303 SW 6th Street Penthouse East Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315

2003 to Present
Criminal Defense (State -Federal) & Insurance Claims

Watson & Lentner, P.A., 220 NE 51st St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334

Managing Attorney: 2000 to 2003
Managed attorney/paralegal staff in separate office. Successfully litigated over 1,000 lawsuits.

Allstate Insurance Company, 110 SE 6th St., Suite 1800, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301

Managing Attorney, PIP Division: November 1998 to October 1999
Opened and managed 1st In-House PIP Division in Broward County for Allstate Insurance Co.,
Deerbrook Insurance Comp., and CCN Insurance Comp.
Also responsible for defense litigation of personal injury lawsuits
Successfully defended over 500 PIP lawsuits

Assistant State Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Sexual Battery/Child Abuse Unit: January 1995 to November 1998
Felony Trial Unit: July 1994 to January 1995
- Includes successful lead counsel on State v Kathy Bush, a 3-month trial involving a mother’s scheme to keep her daughter, Jennifer Bush, hospitalized for 8 years as a result of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy, and over $1,000,000.00 of Medicaid Fraud.

Assistant State Attorney, 6th Judicial Circuit, Clearwater, Florida

Felony Trial Attorney: March 1991 to June 1994
Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Unit
DUI Homicide Unit (Supervisor)
High concentration of white-collar fraud/RICO cases
Lead Trial Attorney: October 1990 to March 1991
Supervision of seven attorneys in County Court Division
Misdemeanor Trial Attorney: January 1989 to October 1990

Professional Activities:

United States Customs: Assisted in developing national legislation to ban the importation of Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) into the United States (for use in drug-related sex crimes), March 1996.
United States Department of Justice: Assisted in preparing report on the investigation of Rohypnol-related sex crimes, May 1996.
Florida Legislature: Lobbyist for enhanced penalties for drug-related sex abuse, 1996 Session.(Enhanced legislation enacted.) Assisted with the rescheduling of Rohypnol, Ketamine and GHB, 1998 Session.
Florida Model Policy on Evidence Collection: Co-authored in Drug-Facilitated Sex Crimes, May 1996.
Attorney General’s Task Force on Sexual Violence:Testified before Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth and prepared report regarding the need for enhanced legislation for Rohypnol abuse in drug-facilitated sex crimes, June 17, 1996. (Florida Legislature subsequently reclassified Rohypnol from a Schedule IV to a Schedule I drug.)
United States Senate, Committee On Foreign Relations: Invited to testify as an expert in the Investigation and Prosecution of drug- rapes, July 1996. Recommendations published as part of the United States Senate’s Final Report regarding the need for enhanced national legislation for drug-related sex crimes. (New legislation enacted in October of 1996.)
Florida Governor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse: Made recommendations for policy changes regarding drug-related sex crimes, August 1996.
United States Department of Education, Every Child Is Ours National Task Force: Developed and implemented a national computer curriculum regarding the prevention of drugs and violence in public schools, Boston, Massachusetts, December, 1996. (Task Force recommendations were sent directly to President William Clinton for his approval and implementation.)
American Prosecutors Research Institute Task Force: Developed video and related materials for the United States Department of Justice, Violence Against Women Program, to train attorneys, law enforcement and medical personnel in all aspects of investigating and prosecuting drug-facilitated crimes. Sat on APRI Board meetings to plan future strategies. Washington, DC, December 1997.
United States Department of Justice/FBI: Assisted in the development in FBI Intranet Web Page to help state and federal law enforcement and medical personnel in all aspects of investigating, tracking and litigating drug-facilitated sex crimes. (Including research articles and format design.) Washington, DC, January 1998.
United States Attorneys Office: Developed video and written materials to train State and US Attorneys, law enforcement and medical personnel in all aspects of investigating and prosecuting drug-facilitated sex crimes. University of Maine, March 1998. (Distributed throughout New England.)
CAVNET (Communities Against Violence Network): Vice President and Advisory Board Member of Communities Against Violence Network. CAVNET is an Internet Website and List Service devoted to legal and medical issues in the area of domestic violence and sex crimes. Its advisory board includes members of the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, U.S. Secret Service, Interpol, and numerous police chiefs, university professors and physicians.
United States Department of Justice: Co-authored training manuals regarding the prosecution of drug-facilitated crimes. 1998-99. (Copies distributed throughout the U.S., Canada, and United Kingdom).
National Crime Faculty: Assisted in the development of policies and training manuals regarding the investigation and prosecution of violent drug-facilitated sex crimes throughout the United Kingdom. Assisted Scotland Yard with the investigation of drug-rape cases. February, 1999, Hampshire, England.
United States House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Investigations: Invited to testify before U.S. Congress as an expert on the development of legislation regarding the regulation of various drugs which are used to facilitate violent crimes. Washington, DC, March 1999.
Sexual Violence on Campus: Edited chapter on the use of Date-Rape Drugs for training manual. Springer Publishing Co., April 1999.
National Judicial Education Program, National Organization of Women Legal Defense Fund: National Task Force Member to develop national training manual, and standard protocol for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of drug-facilitated sex crimes, New York, April 1999.
National Center for Women and Policing: Development of National Training Manual for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of drug-facilitated sex crimes, May, 1999.
PIPLawyers Group: Invited member of PIP plaintiff’s lawyers group throughout Florida dedicated to development of strategies in PIP litigation on behalf of Florida medical providers. 2003.

Seminar Presentations:

Instructor: Investigation & Prosecution Techniques in Arson-Related Fraud Cases, National Association of Arson Investigators, St. Petersburg, Florida, September 1st, 1993.
Instructor: Investigation & Prosecution Techniques in Drug-Related Rapes, Florida Sex Crimes Investigators Association, Tallahassee, Florida, October 17th, 1996
Instructor: Investigation & Prosecution Techniques in Drug-Related Rapes Cases, Metropolitan Police Institute, Miami, Florida, November 15th, 1996
Instructor: Investigation & Prosecution of Drug-Related Crimes, Florida Sex Crimes Investigators Association, Criminal Justice Institute, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida , February 20th, 1997.
Instructor: Identification, Investigation & Prosecution of Drug-Facilitated Crimes, nine hour workshop presented with Dr. Sarah Calhoun, Research Director of Haight Ashbury Clinic, California Sex Crimes Investigators Association, Shell Beach, California, March 14th, 1997.
Instructor: Investigation, Prosecution & Treatment of Victims in Drug-Facilitated Crimes, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, June 11th, 1997.
Instructor: Investigation, Prosecution & Treatment of Victims in Drug-Facilitated Crimes at the State and Federal Level, United States Attorneys Office, Orono, Maine, March 15th, 1998. Video of presentation used as training tool for FBI and the US Attorneys Office, as well as local law enforcement in New England.
Instructor: Investigation & Prosecution Techniques in Drug-Facilitated Crimes, Broward County Victim Rights Coalition 3^rd Annual Training Conference, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, April 24^th, 1998.
Instructor: Identification, Investigation & Prosecution of Drug-Facilitated Crimes, eight-hour workshop, United States Attorneys Office, Gatlinberg, Tennessee, May 14^th, 1998.
Instructor: Investigation, Prosecution & Treatment of Victims in Drug-Facilitated Crimes, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, June 11^th, 1997.
Instructor: Investigation, Prosecution & Treatment of Victims in Drug-Facilitated Crimes, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Tallahassee, Florida, November 12^th, 1998.
Instructor: Investigation & Prosecution Techniques in Drug-Related Crimes, New York Police Department/Suffolk County District Attorneys Office, Huntington, New York, November 13^th, 1998
Instructor: Investigation, Prosecution & Treatment of Victims in Drug-Facilitated Crimes, Metro-Dade County Police Department, Miami, Florida, December 14^th, 1998.
Instructor: Expert Panel Member regarding policy development in cases of gender-based violence, National Center for Women and Policing, 4^th Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida, April, 1999.
Instructor: Investigation & Prosecution of Drug-Facilitated Crimes, Workshop sponsored by the United States Attorneys Offices of Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky, Gatlinberg, Tennessee, April 22^nd, 1999.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
Florida Bar/Trial Lawyers, Criminal and Governmental Law Sections
Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National College for DUI Defense
Florida Association of Drug Court Professionals
Broward County Bar Association
Broward County Association of Defense Lawyers
Florida Justice Association
Florida PIP Lawyers Group
Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary
Fraternal Order of Police
United Kingdom National Crime Faculty (Scotland Yard, London England)
Florida Sex Crimes Investigators Association
California Sex Crimes Investigators Association
Texas Sex Crimes Investigators Association
New York Sex Crimes Investigators Association
Michigan Sex Crimes Investigators Association
Tennessee Sex Crimes Investigators Association
Maine Sex Crimes Investigators Association
Broward County Crime Commission
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
Riverwalk Trust Member
Thomas Moore Society
Coral Ridge Homeowners Assoc. (Board of Governors)
FLA Foundation (President / Drowning Prevention)
Member of U.S. Triathlon Association
Coach, Coral Ridge Little League & Holiday Park (3 sports)…14 years
Kiwanis Club, Deerfield Beach
Team of Life Charities
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Florida Association of Drug Court Professionals
Chairman of Broward County Election Fraud Committee
General Counsel for House of Hope & Stepping Stones
Executive Board for House of Hope & Stepping Stones (Acting Secretary)
(Drug & Mental Health Residential Treatment Center)

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