Attorney Robert King

Robert King is the founder of King Law and a native of the Rochester area, driven by a passion for representing for people in life-changing moments. At King Law, our mantra is Take Charge—controlling every single thing possible and working with the type of client who isn’t going to sit back and let a bad situation dictate their future. We believe in delivering a tailored legal strategy to each of our clients, and following through with dogged advocacy on their behalf.

As a criminal defense lawyer, Mr. King has successfully handled over 750 criminal cases, taking on all types of cases. The level of case has ranged from the lowest to the highest: violations and misdemeanor offenses to felony charges like murder, sexual abuse, complex white collar cases, and multi-year investigations into drug trafficking organizations. The firm has handled more than 100 class A and B felonies – the most serious cases in New York State.

During the past decade, Mr. King has transitioned largely into a civil attorney. “There is nowhere better to learn how to practice law than the criminal field.” says King. As a young criminal lawyer you are in court every single day and learn how to build a case. “I once tried 12 jury trials in 12 weeks.” No civil lawyers do that. Now I use that experience I have as a trial lawyer to build strong cases. We pride ourself on having evidence that proves every element of the case. When you have strong evidence it leads to strong settlements for our civil clients.

“I have learned that every single case is critical to the client’s life. The more serious cases are not always the most complicated, complex, or difficult,” says King. “I take the cases that I am interested in. That usually means an interesting legal issue or potential for injustice. Most of all, I take cases where I think I can help.”

We like winning. We have done it over and over. This is a results-based industry, and the results speak clearly. Unlike most firms, our results are carefully tracked, and we’ll be thinking about the best result the entire time we represent you.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE:

We also believe every case is critically important to the life of the participant. We take on a limited caseload and prioritize client service so that stress is minimized and results maximized. Our team of four lawyers and five paralegals mean you get personal attention and there is always a kind and understanding person available. It’s important to us to have a real person answering the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our impressive record of wins stems from Mr. King’s experience, which gave him years of experience understanding how your case will be treated on the other side. As a new Assistant District Attorney in Monroe County, Mr. King was assigned to the local courts bureau, which handled misdemeanor prosecutions in the Town Courts in Monroe County and Rochester City Court. After gaining significant experience in local court, Mr. King was promoted to the Special Victims Unit, responsible for prosecuting the most sensitive cases, crimes involving domestic violence and child abuse. While in the Special Victims Unit he took over twenty jury trials to verdict.

The Special Victims Unit was also where Mr. King first became interested in becoming a defense attorney. “I learned that people do anything to save themselves, or hurt people they are mad at. Every day, people lie to the police and lie on the witness stand. Sometimes the liars are the police themselves.” he says, when asked about the switch. “I was fortunate to know some great defense attorneys when I was a prosecutor and eventually became very jealous of their freedom to go to war for one person, their client.”

An Advocate For The Injured

Over the next year a number of past clients were involved in personal injury matters and they were also successfully resolved. These early cases demonstrated that Mr. King’s skills as a criminal trial lawyer transferred well into civil practice. His ability to prepare a case for trial exceeded others without criminal experience. More importantly, Mr. King was more comfortable in court than most civil lawyers because he had spent his early career in the courtroom.

Finally, Mr. King’s experience settling virtually thousands of criminal cases with plea bargains gave him an advantage during negotiations in civil cases. Mr. King has continued to develop the personal injury practice of the firm. He has successfully represented victims of car accidents, slip and fall accidents, boat accidents, abuse, and various other types of injury cases.

“My record stems from a belief in being the best kind of lawyer, one that can win a lot of different ways,” says King. “The best lawyers do the best investigations, which gives them evidence that can turn the tide of a case. The best lawyers also know the nuances of the legal system, which can help them ‘win on a technicality’ or apply leverage to their opponent to force a settlement. The best lawyers are master negotiators. And when none of that works – the best lawyers are great trial lawyers.” Our civil practice has grown each year and we now represent clients throughout the United States.

In 2016, 2017, and 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 Robert King was featured in the Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, a peer-reviewed list that recognizes 2.5% of the most elite attorneys in the state.

Mr. King spent his youth in rural Wayne County, New York, where he excelled academically and athletically. “The plainspoken directness that comes from a rural area can’t be removed from me. I’m proud of that,” says King. His focus in law school was criminal law with a concentration in counterterrorism law. In his final year of law school Mr. King completed his capstone paper on the legal standard for tracing terrorist financing within the United States. In law school he also consulted with the Department of Justice and US Customs and Border patrol, eventually proposing a system that would require the use of biomarkers at the border for anyone entering the United States.

“As a kid I was close with both my grandfathers. My maternal grandfather, Bob Dodge, was a union foreman. He worked with steel. He was made of steel, mentally and physically.” King continues, “On the other side my paternal grandfather was Herb King. He was an Executive at IBM. He lived the IBM mantra, ‘Think’. My career has shown that I am equal parts Bob Dodge and Herb King. Sometimes success comes from being creative, forward thinking and subtle. Sometimes success comes from hard work, guts and determination.”