Global Knowledge, Extensive Experience.
Biography
Robert J. Becerra is a Florida Bar Board Certified expert in International Law. He concentrates his practice in the areas of civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, grand jury investigations, cargo loss, federal agency investigations, disputes between exporters and importers, trade based money laundering, export enforcement, FDA detentions and investigations, Customs seizures and civil forfeitures, and other proceedings related to international trade. He has been counsel of record in a number of reported decisions, some of which resulted in changes in the law, and he has tried a large number of cases, mostly jury trials in both civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts.
Mr. Becerra has consistently received the highest “AV” rating from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory for legal skills and professional ethics and is rated “Superb” in the lawyer rating website www.avvo.com. He is listed as a SuperLawyer in the 2024 edition, and he is listed in “The Best Lawyers in America, 2024 edition under “Criminal Defense: White Collar”. Additionally, he is listed as a “Top Lawyer” in the 2023 edition of the South Florida Legal Guide. Mr. Becerra is a member of the Miami-Dade County Bar Association; the International Law Section of the Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, where he is a member of the Criminal Justice and International Law Sections.
Mr. Becerra has been quoted and published in a variety of publications both web based and in print, on issues involving international trade such as cargo issues, criminal enforcement in the food and drug industry, and has presented at seminars before both attorney and industry trade groups.
Practice Areas
- International Trade Litigation
Professional Associations
- Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association, Presenter
- Dade County Bar Association, Member
- American Bar Association, Criminal Justice and International Law Sections, Member
- Florida Bar International Law Section, Past-Chair
- Florida Bar’s International Law Certification Committee, Member
- Florida Bar Council of Sections, Chair
Certified Legal Specialties
- International Law, Florida Bar, 2014
Honors
- “AV Preeminent” rating from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
- Super Lawyer
- Top Lawyer, South Florida Legal Guide
- The Best Lawyers in America, Criminal Defense-White Collar
- “10.0” in the lawyer rating website, www.avvo.com
- Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite
Classes & Seminars
- Zoom webinar on the legal issues presented when importing Gray Market products, Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association, 2020.
- Presented seminar on trade based money laundering in international trade, Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association, 2020.
- Moderator, Compliance in Mergers and Acquisitions, iLaw2020: The ILS Global Forum on International Law, Law, 2020
- Moderator, PPE Transactions in a Pandemic: Achieving Compliance and Identifying Fraud”, Zoom Webinar, Florida Bar International Law Section, 2021
Past Positions
- Devine Goodman Rasco Watts-FitzGerald & Wells, P.A., Of Counsel, 06/2012 to 04/2014
- Fuerst Ittleman, Attorney, 09/2009 to 06/2012
- Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., Member, 10/2004 to 09/2009
- Raskin & Raskin, PA, Partner
Education
- University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Florida
- 1990
- University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
- B.B.A.
Bar Admissions
- Florida, 1990
- U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1991
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 1991
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, 1991
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1994
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana, 2023
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 2023
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 2019
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 2023
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida, 2024
Published Works
- Author, “Gold at the End of the Rainbow: Money Laundering Through the Precious Metals Markets”, International Law Quarterly, Florida Bar International Law Section, 2022
- Author, "When the Gray Market Turns Black", International Law Quarterly, Florida Bar International Law Section, 2020
- Co-author, "Criminal Liability for Corporate Officers-The Resurrection of the Park Doctrine in Food and Drug Cases", Practical Trade & Customs Strategies, Thomson Reuters, April 15, 2013
- “Trade Based Money Laundering – South Florida is in the Bulls Eye”, The Daily Business Review, July 25, 2018
- The Black Market Peso Exchange and the Small Exporter”, International Law Quarterly, Florida Bar International Law Section, Winter, 2015
- A Review of the Adequate Forum Factor in Forum Non Conveniens Analysis in Florida’s State and Federal Courts”, The International Law Quarterly, Florida Bar International Law Section, Summer, 2014
Languages
- English
- Spanish