Executive Summary
Bob joined RJO in June 2011 and dedicated the next decade to elevating the D.C. office’s government contracts caliber to compete with our hallmark San Francisco office. Prior to joining RJO, Bob was a partner at multiple national firms for nearly thirty years.
Over his 47-year career, Bob earned a reputation as a leading expert in increasingly complex practice areas. He led the firm’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice Group, representing Fortune 500 clients, such as Microsoft, as well as five of the top 20 aerospace and defense companies in their highest-profile contracts, disputes, compliance audits and bid protests.
As a Special Government Employee of the Department of Defense, Bob was on the Defense Science Board task force that produced the “Cyber Supply Chain Report” (April 2017), which received the SANS Institute “Difference Maker” award. He also co-authored the August 2018 MITRE “Deliver Uncompromised” report, which is credited with significantly influencing DoD and federal civilian agency security initiatives. The report team received a “Program Recognition Award” from MITRE in 2019. Bob participated in multiple other MITRE projects on national security and public policy subjects.
It is no exaggeration to say that Bob was one of the most widely known and respected cybersecurity, supply chain risk management (SCRM) and National Security Specialist lawyers, particularly in the context of government contracts. As a pillar and authority in the legal community, Bob authored more than 70 articles, spoke on high-profile panels and served as a trusted source to the media. He garnered a large community following, allowing him to achieve the sought-after LinkedIn “Top Voice” status.
Throughout his distinguished career, Bob accumulated many individual accolades for his professional skills, including a high ranking by Chambers and Partners in both Government Contracts and Cybersecurity. He received notable awards, such as the 2025 Lexology Index “Client Choice” Winner, 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Cyber Lawyers, and Federal 100 Winner.
Outside of his client work and thought leadership, Bob served as vice chair of the Information Security Committee and co-chair of the American Bar Association Science and Technology Section’s Trust and Risk Committee. He also published several articles in the section’s publication, SciTech Lawyer.
Bob is a Georgetown University Law Center graduate, where he served as an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He was a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Center for Science & International Affairs (presently, the “Belfer Center”), where he focused on European security and U.S.-Soviet strategic forces competition.
Bob was a remarkable lawyer and member of our law firm community. All of us who worked with him marveled at his astonishing ability to absorb highly technical information and quickly produce thoughtful and nuanced analyses. Bob was a strong and exacting advocate for his clients, which is what made him such a great contributor to RJO and the larger legal community.
It was a privilege to have Bob as our colleague and we will miss him. Our thoughts are with Bob’s family, friends and colleagues.